Nykredit A S Takes Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 47,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,585,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $746,729,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 95.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,638,000 after buying an additional 86,393 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel boosted its stake in Vistra by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,875,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VST opened at $149.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $149.39 and a 200 day moving average of $154.82. The company has a market cap of $50.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VST. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,988 shares of company stock valued at $5,178,427. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra 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.