Patton Fund Management Inc. Acquires 14,945 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 858.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,685 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,945 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN raised its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% in the second quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 168,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,698,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $499,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $292,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $547,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,830,000 after purchasing an additional 35,444 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VST. Scotiabank started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 41,426 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.32, for a total transaction of $8,339,882.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 246,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,629,809.04. The trade was a 14.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 657,021 shares of company stock valued at $127,933,042. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $161.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.38, a PEG ratio of 2.96 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.227 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.49%.

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.