Freemont Management S.A. Sells 47,800 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. reduced its Vistra stake by 90.5% in the second quarter, selling 47,800 shares and retaining 5,000 shares valued at approximately $793,000. Institutional investors collectively own 90.88% of Vistra.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.94, despite UBS and JPMorgan recently lowering their targets.
• Vistra’s shares opened at $136.43, down 1.8%, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.76 versus the $1.61 consensus and revenue of $4.02 billion versus expectations of $5.46 billion. The company maintained its $0.23 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Freemont Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,800 shares during the period. Vistra makes up approximately 0.8% of Freemont Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,729,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 95.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 34,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $29,875,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered Vistra from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.94.

Vistra Stock Down 1.8%

VST stock opened at $136.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Company 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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