Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,284 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $28,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 58.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 315,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,493,000 after buying an additional 116,226 shares in the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,446,000 after buying an additional 9,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $2,113,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.83.

Vistra Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $131.75 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $64.26 and a 52-week high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. This trade represents a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.