Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stake Cut by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 137,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,410 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $9,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Lisa Crutchfield purchased 335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $89.46 per share, for a total transaction of $29,969.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,879,359.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.00. The stock had a trading volume of 5,904,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,700,290. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.98. The company has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.50 and a beta of 1.05. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.54 and a 52 week high of $107.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 5.66%. On average, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th were issued a $0.218 dividend. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 53.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.83.

About Vistra

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.