Sapient Capital LLC Takes $40.97 Million Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,063,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,973,000. Vistra makes up 1.3% of Sapient Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Vistra at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $63.50.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.99. 4,233,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,021,236. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.05. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $57.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.48.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a $0.215 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 24.02%.

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.