Hiddenite Capital Partners LP Takes $2.94 Million Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Hiddenite Capital Partners LP has acquired a $2.94 million stake in Vistra Corp., purchasing 25,000 shares, which marks 1.0% of their investment portfolio.
• Insider transactions include significant sales by directors John R. Sult and Scott B. Helm, with Sult selling 25,000 shares and Helm selling 50,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership.
• Vistra Corp. reported quarterly earnings showing EPS of $1.01, missing estimates, and announced a dividend increase to $0.226, reflecting a commitment to shareholders.

Hiddenite Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,936,000. Vistra accounts for 1.0% of Hiddenite Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VST. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at $39,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, 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 sale, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% 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 John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST traded up $2.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.07. 2,721,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,924,482. The business's 50-day moving average price is $195.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $72.90 and a twelve month high of $216.85. The company has a market capitalization of $63.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Two 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.43.

Vistra 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.