Archer Investment Corp Sells 1,000 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Archer Investment Corp lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Vistra were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,146,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,779,000 after buying an additional 300,355 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,797,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,800,000 after purchasing an additional 282,056 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,192,000 after purchasing an additional 995,748 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,244,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 99,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its position in Vistra by 470.0% in the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $79.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.83.

Vistra Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $76.69 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $31.16 and a one year high of $107.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $81.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 47.05 and a beta of 1.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 53.37%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Lisa Crutchfield acquired 335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $89.46 per share, for a total transaction of $29,969.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 32,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,879,359.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.