Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas cut its stake in Vistra by 22.0% in Q4, selling 28,340 shares and leaving it with 100,770 shares valued at about $16.26 million.
• Vistra missed Q4 estimates (EPS $2.18 vs. $2.45 expected; revenue $4.58B vs. $5.75B expected), yet analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $236.40.
• EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares on March 9 at $160.31 (an 8.04% reduction in her holdings), while the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228 ($0.91 annual; ~0.6% yield).

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,340 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $16,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during 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 buying an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vistra by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company's stock worth $895,872,000 after buying an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Vistra by 11.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,983,868 shares of the company's stock worth $584,599,000 after buying an additional 303,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 worth $459,264,000 after buying an additional 16,321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.40.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $164.40 on Monday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $122.30 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $55.66 billion, a PE ratio of 75.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.91.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Vistra Company 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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