Dorsey Wright & Associates Sells 23,640 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Dorsey Wright & Associates cut its Vistra stake by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,640 shares and leaving it with 46,958 shares valued at about $7.6 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on Vistra, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $230.44, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly.
• Vistra reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend to $0.229 per share quarterly, yielding about 0.6% annually.

Dorsey Wright & Associates lessened its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,958 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,640 shares during the period. Vistra comprises 1.7% of Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings in Vistra were worth $7,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 3.1% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Vistra by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in Vistra by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Vistra by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. TD Cowen cut their target price on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $230.44.

Vistra Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of VST opened at $163.59 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $55.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.61.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 35,088 shares of company stock worth $5,634,227 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Profile

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

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