Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund sharply increased its Vistra stake by 976.9% in Q1, buying more than 529,000 additional shares and bringing its holding to about 583,588 shares valued at roughly $87.7 million.
• Vistra has seen mixed insider activity, with directors Scott B. Helm and Paul M. Barbas recently selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans; insiders sold 41,588 shares worth about $6.7 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Vistra, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $230.62, while the company also beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and recently raised its dividend.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 976.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 583,588 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 529,398 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.17% of Vistra worth $87,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra 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 sale, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.62.

Vistra Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of VST opened at $163.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

About Vistra

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

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