Vistra Corp. $VST Stake Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 97,424 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.65% of Vistra worth $1,441,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Vistra by 2,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.33.

Vistra Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VST stock opened at $160.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.09. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

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. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.