Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,663 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $5,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,106,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023,500 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,939,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,597,000 after acquiring an additional 534,299 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 19,070.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,566,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537,584 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Vistra by 12.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,551,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,186,000 after purchasing an additional 597,875 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vistra by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,190,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,228,000 after purchasing an additional 575,799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VST. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $65.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.12. The stock has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $75.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.215 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.02%.

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.