Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Makes New $7.01 Million Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 43,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,014,000. Vistra accounts for 1.4% of Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $746,729,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $574,499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.33.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $148.72 on Monday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The company has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.24%.

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.