Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 7,556 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 7,556.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,872,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 11.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,983,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,599,000 after acquiring an additional 303,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,344,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,264,000 after buying an additional 16,321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.5%

Vistra stock opened at $141.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $138.53 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.97. The firm has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.