Westbourne Investments Inc. Grows Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Westbourne Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 64.7% during the second quarter, purchasing an additional 8,696 shares, bringing their total to 22,127 shares.
• Vistra recently announced a dividend increase to $0.226 per share, to be paid on September 30th, raising their annualized dividend to $0.90.
• Despite a recent earnings report showing a miss on consensus estimates, analysts have issued mostly positive ratings, with a consensus target price of $201.43 for Vistra shares.

Westbourne Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 64.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,127 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,696 shares during the period. Vistra comprises approximately 2.3% of Westbourne Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Westbourne Investments Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $4,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company's stock worth $492,102,000 after buying an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company's stock worth $362,166,000 after buying an additional 57,358 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $209,149,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,470,680 shares of the company's stock worth $172,717,000 after buying an additional 118,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,352,450 shares of the company's stock worth $186,462,000 after buying an additional 161,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $209.22 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $88.89 and a 52-week high of $217.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $197.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.77.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 105,402 shares of company stock worth $21,742,629 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra 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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