Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Reduces Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,637 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Vistra were worth $30,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.1% in 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 during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Vistra by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 41.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.20.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $158.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.14 and its 200 day moving average is $186.48. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $90.51 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The company had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. Research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $1,424,763.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,842,690.90. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 176,321 shares of company stock worth $30,615,754 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company 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.