Comerica Bank Sells 24,392 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 16.9%, owning 119,546 shares valued at approximately $14 million after selling 24,392 shares during the first quarter.
• Vistra recently reported a loss of $0.62 per share in its quarterly earnings, missing analyst estimates, with revenues of $4.25 billion compared to expectations of $5.15 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, with a scheduled payment on September 30th, representing an annual yield of 0.5%.

Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,546 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,392 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Vistra were worth $14,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in Vistra by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vistra by 2.0% in 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. Oak Grove Capital LLC increased its position in Vistra by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 19,760 shares of the company's stock worth $2,321,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Vistra by 1.6% in 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. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vistra by 4.9% in 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. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. This represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of VST stock traded up $2.37 on Thursday, reaching $196.97. 3,373,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,331,695. The stock has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $72.90 and a one year high of $216.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $195.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.04.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.43.

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.