River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 226,259 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 354,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,259 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $42,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 4.4% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its position in Vistra by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 10,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VST opened at $115.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $33.84 and a 12 month high of $143.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.27 and its 200-day moving average is $93.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.59 billion, a PE ratio of 85.10 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.221 dividend. 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 0.77%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.40.

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.