Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 5.9%, now holding 43,870 shares valued at $8.5 million after selling 2,748 shares in the second quarter.
• Insider trading has seen CEO James A. Burke sell 43,074 shares, dropping his ownership by 16.56% to 217,025 shares worth approximately $45.3 million.
• Vistra Corp. announced a dividend increase to $0.226 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 0.4%, and recently reported earnings of $1.01 per share for the last quarter, missing expectations.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,870 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,748 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $8,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 8.3% during the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,980 shares of the company's stock worth $6,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $432,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Vistra by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 358,274 shares of company stock valued at $73,886,457. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST opened at $202.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $68.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $200.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.61.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.21.

Vistra Company 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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