Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 86.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,651 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,583 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $70.46 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $22.67 and a one year high of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

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.