Deepwater Asset Management LLC Makes New $7.33 Million Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Deepwater Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 46,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,327,000. Vistra accounts for 3.3% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $746,729,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 95.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,638,000 after purchasing an additional 86,393 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $29,875,000. Finally, Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at $10,543,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $140.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.25. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $228.56.

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.