California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 391,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,654 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Vistra were worth $58,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,872,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Vistra to $212 and maintained a favorable view, providing a bullish valuation signal and potential support for the stock. Morgan Stanley Raises Vistra Price Target to $212
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also issued a “Buy” rating, reinforcing the view that Vistra’s power-generation assets and exposure to rising electricity demand could offer further upside. Vistra Gets a Buy from Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Vistra declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.23 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 21. The roughly $75 million distribution offers continued shareholder returns and was described as a modest increase from the prior dividend. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra’s valuation appears mixed following its pullback. Potential growth from data-center electricity demand remains an investment theme, but new limits affecting data-center development in New York could constrain some expansion expectations. Vistra Stock Looks Reasonable Following New York Data Center Limits
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and a pessimistic TD Cowen forecast pressured the shares, highlighting concerns about Vistra’s outlook and contributing to the recent decline. TD Cowen Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vistra

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VST. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.88.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:VST opened at $148.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.12.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.42 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Vistra Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.