Donoghue Forlines LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Donoghue Forlines LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its holdings in Vistra by 210.0% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 4.0%

VST opened at $171.20 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $90.51 and a one year high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $58.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.81, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.91.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.49%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 745,845 shares of company stock valued at $152,178,104. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Melius began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $234.21.

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.