Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stock Position Lowered by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after buying an additional 155,533 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 323.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $72.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.98. The company has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $75.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a $0.215 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.