California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 722,078 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,221 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Vistra were worth $27,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 155,533 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Vistra by 323.6% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $72.70 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.45. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $75.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average 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.