6,609 Shares in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Purchased by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Vistra by 90.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 155,533 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Vistra by 323.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $72.47 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $75.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.55 and its 200 day moving average is $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. Research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VST. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

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.