Vistra Corp. $VST Position Trimmed by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors trimmed its Vistra stake by 18.5% in the third quarter, selling 353,942 shares and ending the period with 1,564,051 shares valued at $306,429,000.
• Other large moves: Norges Bank opened a new roughly $930 million position, and Massachusetts Financial Services and Invesco meaningfully increased holdings, leaving institutional investors with about 90.88% ownership.
• Vistra missed the most recent quarterly EPS and revenue estimates ($2.18 vs. $2.45; $4.58B vs. $5.75B) but analysts remain bullish — consensus rating Buy with an average target of $236.40 — and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228.

Capital International Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 18.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,564,051 shares of the company's stock after selling 353,942 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.46% of Vistra worth $306,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vistra by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock worth $3,228,880,000 after acquiring an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vistra by 15.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company's stock worth $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $930,080,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,344,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,264,000 after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $236.40.

Vistra Stock Up 0.5%

VST stock opened at $164.38 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $163.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.42. 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 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Profile

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

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