Burford Brothers Inc. Sells 105 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Burford Brothers Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Vistra comprises approximately 2.0% of Burford Brothers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Burford Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $4,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,149,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Vistra by 2,341.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,755,000 after acquiring an additional 830,111 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 102.5% in the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 973,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,309,000 after acquiring an additional 492,765 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,876,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 943,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,761,000 after purchasing an additional 323,264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total transaction of $4,595,809.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 282,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,817,700.37. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 590,228 shares of company stock worth $121,653,740. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 4.2%

VST stock opened at $201.53 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $90.51 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.84. The company has a market capitalization of $68.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VST. Wall Street Zen lowered Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.31.

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.