VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $10.08 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems invested approximately $10.08 million in Vistra Corp., acquiring 52,000 shares of the company's stock during the second quarter.
• CEO James A. Burke sold 21,355 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction valued at about $4.59 million, resulting in a 7.03% decrease in his ownership.
• Vistra intends to maintain its growth momentum, as multiple analysts have raised their price targets on the stock, with a consensus target of approximately $229.31 and a majority rating of "Buy."

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,078,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 4.7% during the second quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 48.4% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 239 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total transaction of $4,595,809.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 282,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,817,700.37. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 590,228 shares of company stock worth $121,653,740 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $229.31.

Vistra Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $194.42 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $90.51 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $65.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $200.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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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