The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,741 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Vistra were worth $26,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 36,588 shares of company stock worth $5,914,427 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Trading Down 0.1%

Vistra stock opened at $139.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.61. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $46.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

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.