Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,901 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 37.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,901 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $6,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its position in Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. City State Bank increased its position in shares of Vistra by 210.0% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 868,339 shares of company stock worth $173,242,584 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $165.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.82 and a 200-day moving average of $189.94.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.20.

Vistra Company 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.