Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 92.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,521 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Vistra were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 24.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $230.62.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $162.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.57 and its 200 day moving average is $158.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.41%.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower?carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.