HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC dramatically increased its Vistra stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 857.2% to 136,733 shares valued at about $22.1 million.
• Vistra has continued to attract heavy institutional investment, with major firms like Vanguard, Invesco, and Franklin Resources also adding shares; hedge funds and other institutions own 90.88% of the stock.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.87 versus $1.32 expected, and it also announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.229 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 857.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,733 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 122,448 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $22,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company's stock worth $895,872,000 after buying an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,983,868 shares of the company's stock worth $584,599,000 after buying an additional 303,573 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,344,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,264,000 after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,056,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,951,000 after purchasing an additional 178,835 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.33.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $156.40 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $132.66 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company has a market capitalization of $52.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Vistra Profile

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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