Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Trims Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lessened its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,271 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,576 shares during the quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,445,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,755,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 78,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,722,000 after purchasing an additional 22,492 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 7,556.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 371,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,784,000 after purchasing an additional 122,545 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $139.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $156.34 and a 200-day moving average of $164.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $137.81 and a 1-year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.24%.

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.