Quantitative Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 37,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,000,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 24.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Vistra by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Vistra by 37.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its stake in Vistra by 20.0% during the 2nd 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. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $137.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The firm has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.62 and a 200-day moving average of $155.50. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,588 shares of company stock valued at $5,914,427. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

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.