Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $34.98 Million Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS has increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 3.0%, now owning approximately $34.98 million worth of shares following a purchase of an additional 5,220 shares in Q2.
• Vistra recently reported a miss in earnings per share at $1.01, significantly lower than the projected $1.63, contributing to revenues of $4.25 billion against an estimate of $5.15 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, marking a small increase from its previous dividend of $0.23, with a payout ratio currently at 14.35%.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,475 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.05% of Vistra worth $34,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 210.0% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST traded up $10.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $201.62. 4,782,462 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,557,362. The company has a market cap of $68.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $199.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.41. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 654,583 shares of company stock worth $134,542,882. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $229.31.

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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