Dark Forest Capital Management LP Acquires 33,081 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by acquiring an additional 33,081 shares, bringing its total holdings to 42,205 shares valued at approximately $4.95 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Vistra include a strong-buy from Raymond James and a price target increase from BMO Capital Markets to $229.00, with an overall consensus target price of $201.43.
• Vistra announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, reflecting a shift from its previous dividend and demonstrating a healthy dividend payout ratio of 14.35%.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 362.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,205 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,081 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Vistra were worth $4,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VST. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the first 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 fourth quarter worth $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.43.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $187.73. 5,198,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,346,336. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $195.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.91. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $216.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.