Raymond James Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 15.2%, owning approximately 0.43% of the company after selling 262,152 shares.
• Vistra recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226, an increase from its previous dividend, reflecting a payout ratio of 14.35%.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Vistra, with several firms raising their price targets, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $192.62.

Raymond James Financial Inc. decreased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,460,057 shares of the company's stock after selling 262,152 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.43% of Vistra worth $171,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Vistra by 275.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VST. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.62.

Vistra Trading Down 2.6%

Vistra stock opened at $197.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $66.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.90 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $191.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.34. 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 (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,218,505.12. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,136,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 166,000 shares of company stock worth $27,371,650. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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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