HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 59,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 742,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,488,000 after purchasing an additional 143,848 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Vistra by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $277,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth $3,693,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.40.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $159.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.63, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $90.51 and a one year high of $219.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $163.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.68.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.228 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 41.94%.

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.