Empire Life Investments Inc. Buys 66,763 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 34.1% in the first quarter, owning 262,710 shares valued at approximately $30.85 million, making it the fund's 11th largest investment.
• Executives Carrie Lee Kirby and Scott A. Hudson sold a total of 164,000 shares of Vistra stock, significantly reducing their ownership by 33.1% and 15.4%, respectively, over the past days.
• Vistra announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226, scheduled for payment on September 30th, reflecting a rise from its previous dividend of $0.23.

Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,710 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,763 shares during the period. Vistra comprises 2.0% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Vistra worth $30,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $534,000. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.4% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 11,020 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 39.9% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 21.1% in the first quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,217 shares of the company's stock worth $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 3,348 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 120.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 246,804 shares of the company's stock worth $28,985,000 after acquiring an additional 134,678 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at $48,136,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total value of $16,953,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This represents a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.69.

Vistra Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $4.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.40. 4,587,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,092,355. The company has a market cap of $71.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $70.00 and a one year high of $216.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $186.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.15%.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.