Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 2,341.6% during the second quarter, owning approximately 0.26% of the company, worth $167.76 million after acquiring over 830,000 additional shares.
• Analysts have issued positive ratings for Vistra, with price targets ranging from $207.00 to $241.00, indicating strong confidence in the stock's potential growth.
• Vistra Corp. recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend, signifying the company's robust financial health.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 2,341.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 865,562 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 830,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.26% of Vistra worth $167,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA boosted its holdings in Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Vistra by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $210.71.

Vistra Trading Up 0.4%

VST traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $211.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,186,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,842,753. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $217.90. The firm has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $198.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.52.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,121 shares of company stock worth $30,849,036. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.