Novem Group Takes $1.28 Million Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Novem Group has invested approximately $1.28 million in Vistra Corp., acquiring 6,589 shares as per their recent 13F filing.
• CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of Vistra's stock for nearly $9 million, reducing his position by 16.56%.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Vistra, with an average target price of $218.20 and several upgrades to "buy" and "strong-buy" ratings.

Novem Group purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $17,023,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 213.4% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,412 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 239.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 142,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,613,000 after acquiring an additional 100,400 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 233,569 shares of company stock valued at $48,915,316. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group lifted 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, July 25th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $218.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $202.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $199.60 and its 200-day moving average is $166.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.

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