Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Acquires New Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp., purchasing 25,640 shares valued at approximately $3 million, making it the firm's 14th largest holding.
• Vistra recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, missing analysts' estimates by $0.62, with revenue also below expectations at $4.25 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226, reflecting a 0.5% dividend yield, up from its previous dividend of $0.23.

Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 25,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,011,000. Vistra comprises approximately 1.3% of Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VST. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $197.19 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.90 and a 200 day moving average of $157.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,218,505.12. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,000 shares of company stock worth $27,371,650. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.62.

About Vistra

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.