Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,210 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,663 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $5,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,057,091 shares of the company's stock worth $79,239,000 after acquiring an additional 587,607 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 43,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 62,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,389,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $1,573,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 792,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,540,000 after buying an additional 8,159 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.66. 7,598,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,680,044. The company's 50 day moving average is $61.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $75.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.24 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. 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 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20.

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.