Wright Investors Service Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 45.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,568 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock traded down $0.33 on Thursday, reaching $68.32. 1,524,262 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,966,824. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.15 and a 200-day moving average of $44.74. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $75.89. The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VST. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Profile

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.