Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Acquired by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Key Points

• Institutional investors increased their stakes in Vistra. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position by 125% in the first quarter, and institutional ownership overall remains very high at 90.88% of the company.
• Vistra reported strong quarterly results. The company posted EPS of $2.87, well above the $1.32 consensus estimate, and revenue of $5.64 billion versus expectations of $5.22 billion.
• Insiders sold shares while the company maintained a modest dividend. Directors Paul M. Barbas and John R. Sult both sold stock in pre-arranged trading plans, and Vistra recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.229 per share, or $0.92 annualized.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 125.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,691 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,607 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Vistra were worth $25,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company's stock worth $895,872,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 0.1%

Vistra stock opened at $159.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.57.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $230.31.

About Vistra

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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