3,081 Shares in Vistra Corp. $VST Acquired by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P purchased 3,081 shares of Vistra Corp., valued at approximately $362,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Vistra during the first quarter, with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raising its stake by 430.2% to own nearly 41,000 shares.
• Vistra recently announced a dividend increase to $0.226 per share, up from $0.23, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders amidst a backdrop of changing analyst ratings.

Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 10,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in Vistra by 430.2% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 40,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,786,000 after acquiring an additional 33,260 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,722,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Vistra by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 943,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,761,000 after acquiring an additional 323,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.93.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $189.90 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $194.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Vistra 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.

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