NewEdge Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors reduced its Vistra position by 6.8% in the second quarter, selling 6,801 shares and retaining 93,940 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.88% of Vistra.
• Vistra priced $1.5 billion in junior subordinated notes to fund corporate purposes and potentially redeem preferred stock, but the financing adds to an already high debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $223.53, despite Vistra missing quarterly earnings and revenue estimates. Shares recently traded near $148, while the company maintained its $0.23 quarterly dividend.

NewEdge Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,940 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,801 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $14,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Key Vistra News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra priced $850 million of Series A and $650 million of Series B junior subordinated notes due 2057. Proceeds will support general corporate purposes and could be used to redeem outstanding preferred stock, potentially improving the capital structure. Vistra Prices Registered Offering of $1.5 Billion of Junior Subordinated Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Vistra’s growth prospects. Hedging, long-term power contracts, its diversified generation portfolio and rising electricity demand from data centers, industrial activity and electrification support earnings visibility. The Cogentrix acquisition and long-term nuclear agreements with Meta and Amazon Web Services are additional potential catalysts. Vistra: Cogentrix and Meta Can Offset a Softer ERCOT Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus view remains favorable, with a Moderate Buy rating and price targets generally well above the recent trading range. Commentators cite improving EBITDA expectations and potential upside to management’s outlook. Vistra Receives Consensus Recommendation of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive Vice President Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares worth approximately $6.75 million. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited signal of management’s current outlook. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: The notes increase Vistra’s financing obligations while the company already has substantial leverage, reflected in a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Investors may also be concerned about softer ERCOT conditions and the additional leverage associated with the Cogentrix acquisition. VST Stock Outperforms Industry in the Past Three Months

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VST. UBS Group dropped their price target on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of VST opened at $148.12 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $148.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.04.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred 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. 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 76,188 shares of company stock valued at $11,889,820 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra's generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings' competitive energy businesses.

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