Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 460,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,839 shares during the period. Vistra accounts for approximately 5.2% of Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $90,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 296.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,548,000 after buying an additional 41,687 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Vistra by 17.2% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 77.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 9.1% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 11.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 41,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.32, for a total transaction of $8,339,882.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 246,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,629,809.04. This represents a 14.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 510,945 shares of company stock worth $98,584,693 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.40.

Vistra Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VST stock opened at $161.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $174.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.26, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Vistra 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.