Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Buys 64,953 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Forest Avenue Capital Management LP has increased its stake in Vistra Corp. to 592,760 shares, representing a 12.3% growth in the first quarter and making it the fund's third-largest position.
• Vistra recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.01 per share, falling short of analysts' estimates of $1.63, while generating $4.25 billion in revenue compared to an expected $5.15 billion.
• The firm has announced a dividend increase to $0.226 per share, payable on September 30th, up from $0.23 earlier, with a current dividend yield of 0.5%.

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 592,760 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,953 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up 9.4% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.17% of Vistra worth $69,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.0% during the first quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Oak Grove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.5% during the first quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 19,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,321,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 4.9% in the first quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.93.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,218,505.12. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock worth $18,579,650 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.3%

VST stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $189.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,720,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,539,679. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $64.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG 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.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

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.