NFJ Investment Group LLC Acquires 4,305 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 323.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,635 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,305 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.94.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $136.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.73 and a 200-day moving average of $155.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $132.66 and a 1-year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.