Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 159,775 Vistra Corp. $VST

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 159,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,019,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 95.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company's stock worth $26,638,000 after acquiring an additional 86,393 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel boosted its position in Vistra by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company's stock worth $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $29,875,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,343,000 after purchasing an additional 192,274 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $163.15 on Friday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $156.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.47. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The firm has a market cap of $55.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was 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 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vistra

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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