Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 156,355 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 55.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156,355 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $14,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Vistra by 355.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 5,002 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 132,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,458,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 186.6% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 28,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Trust acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $178.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.69.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $173.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $66.50 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.25.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.225 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total value of $16,953,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.80, for a total transaction of $3,136,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 325,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,990,105.60. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.