Marshall Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 7,613 Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Marshall Financial Group LLC has acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp., purchasing 7,613 shares valued at approximately $1,475,000 in the second quarter.
• Vistra Corp. plans to pay a raised quarterly dividend of $0.226 on September 30th, indicating a positive change from the previous $0.23 dividend.
• Analysts have given Vistra a strong consensus rating of “Buy” with a price target of approximately $210.71, reflecting confidence in the company's future growth.

Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in 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 period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 29.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock worth $30,021,000 after acquiring an additional 57,551 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.56, for a total value of $4,540,494.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 227,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,456,878.08. This trade represents a 8.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 148,121 shares of company stock valued at $30,849,036 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of VST stock traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $210.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,587,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,814,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.26 and a twelve month high of $217.90. The company has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $197.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.68.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VST. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.71.

About Vistra

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.