Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 217.4% in Q4, buying 22,818 shares to hold 33,313 shares valued at $5.374 million, while other institutions also added or initiated positions and institutional ownership totals 90.88%.
• EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares on March 9 at an average price of $160.31 (about $1.6M), reducing her position by roughly 8%; insiders collectively own 0.92% of the stock.
• Research firms overall rate Vistra a consensus Buy with an average price target of $236.87, even as the company missed Q4 EPS and revenue estimates and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228 (annualized $0.91, ~0.6% yield).

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 217.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,313 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,818 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $5,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 33,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Vistra by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,743 shares of the company's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,306,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in Vistra by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 21,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:VST opened at $150.22 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $161.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.78. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.42.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

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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