Palouse Capital Management Inc. Invests $3.15 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Palouse Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 19,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,000. Vistra accounts for about 2.0% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Up 0.2%

Vistra stock opened at $140.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% 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 valued at $6,739,227 over the last 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.