Engineers Gate Manager LP Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Vistra stake by 38.3% in the second quarter, leaving it with 30,266 shares valued at approximately $4.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.88% of Vistra.
• Vistra reported quarterly EPS of $0.76, missing the $1.61 consensus estimate, while revenue of $4.02 billion fell short of analysts’ $5.46 billion forecast. The company also carries substantial leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.
• Despite the earnings shortfall, analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $223.53 versus a recent share price near $148. Vistra also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, yielding about 0.6%.

Engineers Gate Manager LP lowered its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 38.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,266 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,796 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Vistra were worth $4,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 15,825.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,896,343,000 after acquiring an additional 61,994,589 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $574,499,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $468,354,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $148.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $132.66 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $148.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra priced $850 million of Series A and $650 million of Series B junior subordinated notes due 2057. Proceeds will support general corporate purposes and could be used to redeem outstanding preferred stock, potentially improving the capital structure. Vistra Prices Registered Offering of $1.5 Billion of Junior Subordinated Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Vistra’s growth prospects. Hedging, long-term power contracts, its diversified generation portfolio and rising electricity demand from data centers, industrial activity and electrification support earnings visibility. The Cogentrix acquisition and long-term nuclear agreements with Meta and Amazon Web Services are additional potential catalysts. Vistra: Cogentrix and Meta Can Offset a Softer ERCOT Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus view remains favorable, with a Moderate Buy rating and price targets generally well above the recent trading range. Commentators cite improving EBITDA expectations and potential upside to management’s outlook. Vistra Receives Consensus Recommendation of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive Vice President Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares worth approximately $6.75 million. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited signal of management’s current outlook. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: The notes increase Vistra’s financing obligations while the company already has substantial leverage, reflected in a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Investors may also be concerned about softer ERCOT conditions and the additional leverage associated with the Cogentrix acquisition. VST Stock Outperforms Industry in the Past Three Months

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Vistra from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at $50,273,219.34. This represents a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,188 shares of company stock worth $11,889,820. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra's generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings' competitive energy businesses.

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