Korea Investment CORP Acquires 21,370 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 483,269 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,370 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $76,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $746,729,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $574,499,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth about $381,938,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,660,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.94.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE VST opened at $136.43 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The stock has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $153.73 and its 200 day moving average is $155.83.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.54%.

Vistra Company 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.