Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its holdings in Vistra Corp by 2.3%, selling 4,797 shares and now owning 207,917 shares, which makes up about 0.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their stakes in Vistra during the first quarter.
• Vistra recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend, with an annualized payout yielding 0.5%.

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,917 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,797 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up 0.8% of Hancock Whitney Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Hancock Whitney Corp owned 0.06% of Vistra worth $24,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 576,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,761,000 after purchasing an additional 100,866 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 256,163 shares of the company's stock worth $30,084,000 after buying an additional 14,924 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 17.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 256,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,009,000 after buying an additional 37,507 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 11.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,046,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 1.1%

VST traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $187.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,198,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,346,336. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $72.90 and a 1 year high of $216.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $195.43 and its 200-day moving average is $159.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33. 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 (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.43.

Vistra 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.