Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550,824 shares of the company's stock after selling 403,942 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.16% of Vistra worth $65,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,853 shares of the company's stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,878,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Vistra by 9.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company's stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $2,179,000. Finally, Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at $2,353,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
VST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.10.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vistra
In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.
Shares of VST opened at $139.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $168.67. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $140.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.
Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Vistra, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Vistra wasn't on the list.
While Vistra currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.