Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 1,594 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC has increased its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 54.6%, purchasing an additional 1,594 shares and bringing their total stake to 4,513 shares valued at approximately $530,000.
• Several brokerages have raised their target prices for Vistra, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $186.00 and UBS Group increasing theirs to $230.00.
• Vistra recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.22 to $0.225, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 54.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,513 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 29.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 12.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This trade represents a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of VST stock opened at $192.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.26. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $66.50 and a 12-month high of $207.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.50 and a 200-day moving average of $153.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.15%.

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.

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