Altshuler Shaham Ltd Trims Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Altshuler Shaham Ltd reduced its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,647 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel increased its position in Vistra by 3,118.2% in the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Vistra by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,343,000 after acquiring an additional 192,274 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Vistra by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,479,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $158.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.72. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. This represents a 32.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,088 shares of company stock worth $1,634,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.