IMS Capital Management Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST), purchasing 8,051 shares valued at approximately $1.56 million in the second quarter.
• Vistra announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• Despite a revenue miss in its last earnings report, Vistra maintains a strong market presence with a market cap of $69.40 billion and is considered to have an average "Buy" rating among analysts.

IMS Capital Management bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $17,023,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $204.83 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $198.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.87. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $69.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.33. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 190,847 shares of company stock valued at $39,921,480 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $213.00.

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.

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