Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.86 Million Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 12.5% during the first quarter, now holding 15,860 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• Vistra Corp. recently posted earnings of $1.01 earnings per share, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63, and reported a revenue of $4.25 billion against a projected $5.15 billion.
• The company has announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, a positive shift from its previous dividend of $0.23, with an annual yield of 0.4%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,256 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Vistra were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the company's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,409 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.26. 556,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,223,928. The company has a market cap of $71.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.34. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.90 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target (up from $191.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total value of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,136,200. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% 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 worth $47,461,490 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.