Sapient Capital LLC Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 997,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,207 shares during the period. Vistra comprises about 2.3% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $162,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Vistra by 2,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $139.92 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.55. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $137.81 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a $0.229 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.93.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Vistra

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.