FORA Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has acquired approximately 20,559 shares of Vistra Corp. valued at about $2.4 million, marking a new investment in the company.
• Vistra Corp. plans to increase its dividend to $0.226 per share, with a yield of 0.5%, which will be paid on September 30th.
• Analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vistra, with a price target averaging around $201.43.

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 20,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VST. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 778,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,463,000 after purchasing an additional 282,230 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii grew its holdings in Vistra by 24.2% in the first quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 11,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,746,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.43.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $195.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $72.90 and a twelve month high of $216.85. The company's 50-day moving average price is $194.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.59. 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 (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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