United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes $2.09 Million Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 13,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,088,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents 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 sold a total of 36,588 shares of company stock valued at $5,914,427 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST opened at $137.16 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $132.66 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

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.