Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 2.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,686,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,398 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Vistra were worth $267,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $381,938,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,660,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,588 shares of company stock worth $5,914,427. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE VST opened at $140.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $152.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a market capitalization of $47.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is an increase 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%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

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.