Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 28,236 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management cut its Vistra stake by 89.8% in the first quarter, selling 28,236 shares and ending with 3,218 shares valued at about $484,000.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Vistra, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $230.31, despite some firms trimming their targets.
• Vistra reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.229 per share.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,236 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company's stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Vistra by 37.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company's stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its position in Vistra by 20.0% during the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VST shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $230.31.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $157.24 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $154.38 and its 200-day moving average is $158.74. The company has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 15.41%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

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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