Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 334,448 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,313,606 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334,448 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of Vistra worth $127,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VST. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 155,533 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Vistra by 323.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 1.4 %

VST opened at $76.90 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $22.67 and a 52 week high of $79.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.49. The company has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.