Oak Thistle LLC Invests $1.86 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in Vistra by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 280.6% during the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Vistra by 2,341.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,755,000 after buying an additional 830,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total value of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 721,103 shares of company stock worth $141,444,518 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $160.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.91, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.39. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $183.19 and a 200 day moving average of $190.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.40.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.