Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 857.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 136,733 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 122,448 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $22,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Payden & Rygel boosted 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 worth $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $1,445,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 7,556.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $1,875,000. Finally, ARS Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $15,303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $156.40 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $154.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.07.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.33.

About Vistra

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.