Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 976.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 583,588 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 529,398 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Vistra were worth $87,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Vistra by 37.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP grew its stake in Vistra by 20.0% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VST shares. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $230.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of VST stock opened at $163.15 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $55.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.05 and a 200 day moving average of $158.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.41%.

About Vistra

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.