Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Buys 35,460 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,460 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $21,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 16.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,979,000 after purchasing an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,638,000 after buying an additional 86,393 shares during the period. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth about $10,543,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 353.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra completed its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy, adding 10 modern natural-gas facilities with approximately 5,500 megawatts of capacity. The deal expands Vistra’s generation fleet to nearly 50,000 MW and could strengthen its ability to serve power demand in key U.S. markets. Vistra Completes Acquisition of Cogentrix Energy
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.231 per share, a slight increase from the prior payment. The dividend implies an annualized payout of approximately $0.92 per share, providing modest shareholder income. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Wells Fargo reportedly reduced its price expectations, while another report cited an average price target of $202.43 and potential upside from current levels. The conflicting outlook may be contributing to volatility. Wells Fargo Lowers Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: A valuation comparison with Southern Company characterized Vistra as the cheaper utility, but Southern was viewed as stronger on dividends, debt management, profitability and recent stock performance. VST or SO Utility Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, but Zacks said the company lacks the combination of earnings-estimate revisions and surprise factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. This raises caution ahead of the report, especially after the company’s previous quarter missed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue. Vistra Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: A recent analyst downgrade has also weighed on sentiment, reinforcing concerns about valuation, execution and near-term earnings momentum. Vistra Shares Following Analyst Downgrade

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke acquired 4,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at $49,469,648.10. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $176.00 price target on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $201.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperformer” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $138.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $196.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.08 and a 200-day moving average of $153.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.2310 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.