Cumberland Partners Ltd Takes Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its position in Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. City State Bank raised its position in shares of Vistra by 210.0% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at $37,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,935 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $4,091,535.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,074 shares in the company, valued at $50,563,433.22. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 860,120 shares of company stock valued at $171,817,820. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.21.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $179.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $90.51 and a one year high of $219.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $196.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.48.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

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.