Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 66.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 630,500 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Vistra worth $37,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Vistra by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company's stock worth $417,261,000 after acquiring an additional 296,714 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in Vistra by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,964,222 shares of the company's stock worth $408,677,000 after acquiring an additional 353,949 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,206,046 shares of the company's stock worth $304,148,000 after acquiring an additional 106,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $286,414,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,072,045 shares of the company's stock worth $285,674,000 after acquiring an additional 132,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total value of $16,953,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $202.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.90 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85. The company has a market capitalization of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors 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 yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $229.00 target price (up previously from $191.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.62.

Vistra Profile

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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