Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 19.7%, selling 99,183 shares and now owning approximately 0.12% of the company, valued at $47.35 million.
• CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares at an average price of $208.75, marking a 16.56% decrease in his ownership.
• Vistra has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, reflecting an annualized basis of $0.90 and a yield of 0.4%.

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 403,159 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,183 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Vistra worth $47,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 132.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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 assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.43.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock traded up $5.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $209.67. 3,821,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,796,096. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $81.12 and a 12-month high of $216.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.67. 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 (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.