Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Vistra during the first quarter, buying 16,200 shares valued at about $2.44 million.
• Vistra continues to attract major institutional interest, with investors such as Norges Bank, Capital World Investors and Rubric Capital making large bets; about 90.88% of the stock is now held by institutions.
• Analysts remain upbeat on the utility company, with an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $230.31, while Vistra also beat Q1 earnings estimates and raised its quarterly dividend.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,435,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,660,000. Amundi grew its position in Vistra by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,524,000 after acquiring an additional 817,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Vistra by 585.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,425,000 after acquiring an additional 775,104 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $230.31.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $162.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $154.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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