Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Lowers Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. decreased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 92.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 534 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,701 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $46,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Third Point LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,192,000 after purchasing an additional 995,748 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in Vistra by 470.0% in the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Vistra by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,519,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,570,000 after purchasing an additional 363,897 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Vistra by 9,668.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,564,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,632,000 after purchasing an additional 514,722 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $117.72 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.63. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $31.16 and a 12 month high of $122.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a $0.2195 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.83.

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.