Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 49.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,559 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Vistra by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its stake in Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 723,910 shares of company stock valued at $148,086,569. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $188.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.69. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Vistra 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.