Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 1,361 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up approximately 0.7% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $6,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Vistra by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Vistra by 17.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Vistra by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Vistra by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST traded up $4.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $91.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,356,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,079,003. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.18. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $25.88 and a 1-year high of $107.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.27 and a beta of 1.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.39). Vistra had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.218 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Lisa Crutchfield bought 335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $89.46 per share, for a total transaction of $29,969.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,879,359.56. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $79.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.83.

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.