Ethic Inc. Has $618,000 Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 52.1%, selling 5,492 shares and leaving them with 5,053 shares valued at approximately $618,000.
• Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vistra with a "strong-buy" rating and a target price of $216.00, while various analysts set an average target price of $199.93 for the stock.
• Insider sales included 50,000 shares sold by Director Scott B. Helm, valued at over $8.6 million, highlighting significant insider activity in the company.

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 52.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,053 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,492 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 117,283 shares of the company's stock worth $13,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vistra by 0.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company's stock worth $492,102,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the last quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 102.4% during the first quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the company's stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1,492.4% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 95,880 shares of the company's stock worth $11,260,000 after purchasing an additional 89,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth about $259,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,218,505.12. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,650 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.93.

Vistra Stock Up 0.0%

VST stock traded up $0.0160 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $190.2960. The stock had a trading volume of 3,444,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,641,922. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.24 and a 200 day moving average of $158.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

About Vistra

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.