Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Rating) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,651,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 447,827 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.17% of Vistra worth $107,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,604,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023,500 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,939,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,597,000 after purchasing an additional 534,299 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP grew its position in Vistra by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 10,608,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,267 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Vistra by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,498,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,480,000 after purchasing an additional 171,575 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Vistra by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,046,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,041,000 after purchasing an additional 88,006 shares during the period. 92.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $24.27 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $20.76 and a 52 week high of $27.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of -31.12 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.57.

Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. Vistra had a negative net margin of 1.62% and a positive return on equity of 30.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 21st will be paid a $0.204 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.28%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.28 per share, with a total value of $262,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 343,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,019,322.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm bought 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.72 per share, with a total value of $271,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 369,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,126,648.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.28 per share, for a total transaction of $262,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 343,201 shares in the company, valued at $9,019,322.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $852,970. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. TheStreet cut Vistra from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st.

Vistra Company Profile

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Vistra Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of electricity and power generation. It operates through the following segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. The Retail segment sells electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.