2,791 Shares in Vistra Corp. $VST Purchased by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 72,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,491,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Vistra by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 52,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,179,000 after buying an additional 23,118 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $177.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.55. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $90.51 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The stock has a market cap of $60.02 billion, a PE ratio of 63.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 868,339 shares of company stock worth $173,242,584 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.20.

About Vistra

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.