Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 550,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 403,942 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $65,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Vistra by 1,505.9% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Vistra by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.40.

Vistra Stock Up 4.5 %

VST stock opened at $141.90 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $34.24 and a twelve month high of $144.77. 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 has a market capitalization of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.99.

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). Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

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.