Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 63.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,420 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $1,675,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Vistra by 142.2% in the 4th quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 54,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 32,276 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Vistra by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 115,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 33,738 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Vistra by 633.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 58,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 50,672 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $673,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.83.

Vistra Stock Up 16.6 %

VST stock opened at $107.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.71. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $31.16 and a 52 week high of $108.26. The company has a market cap of $37.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is 53.37%.

Vistra Company 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.