Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 57,852 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 14.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 449,148 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,852 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.13% of Vistra worth $71,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vistra by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,657,891,000 after buying an additional 432,028 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after buying an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the period. 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% 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 31,988 shares of company stock worth $5,178,427 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VST. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $137.81 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.