Boston Partners Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Boston Partners has invested approximately $2.35 million in Vistra Corp., acquiring over 20,000 shares in the company's stock.
• Insider selling activity was reported, with EVP Carrie Lee Kirby and Director John R. Sult reducing their positions significantly, signaling a possible shift in ownership sentiment.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Vistra, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a target of $241.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,354,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Vistra by 218.5% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 17,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 12,308 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Vistra by 8.0% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 107,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,619,000 after purchasing an additional 7,983 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,285,000. Finally, Bulltick Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Vistra stock traded up $2.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $192.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,365,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,073,308. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The company has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.19.

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). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,000 shares of company stock worth $18,579,650. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.93.

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.