Meitav Investment House Ltd. Buys 200,000 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its Vistra stake by 72.9% in the first quarter, buying 200,000 additional shares and bringing its total to 474,300 shares worth about $71.3 million.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with 90.88% of Vistra shares held by institutions, even as some insiders recently sold stock under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Analysts remain bullish on Vistra, with multiple firms maintaining buy/overweight ratings and a consensus price target of $230.31, while the stock recently traded around $154.85 after the company beat quarterly earnings estimates.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 72.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 474,300 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Vistra makes up approximately 0.8% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Meitav Investment House Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Vistra worth $71,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.31.

Vistra Trading Down 1.5%

VST stock traded down $2.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,081,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,044,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.38 and a 200 day moving average of $158.74. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.41%.

Vistra 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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