Wright Investors Service Inc. Buys 13,568 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,422 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 62,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $1,573,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 792,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,540,000 after purchasing an additional 8,159 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $350,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $3,636,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VST stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $68.32. 1,524,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,966,824. The stock has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.74. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $22.67 and a 52-week high of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a $0.215 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Vistra 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.