Lone Pine Capital LLC Has $1.25 Billion Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 40.5% during the second quarter, owning 6,469,719 shares valued at approximately $1.25 billion, representing 8.9% of its portfolio.
• Vistra recently reported an EPS of $1.01 for the quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $1.63, with revenues also below expectations at $4.25 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend and resulting in an annual yield of 0.4%.

Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the quarter. Vistra accounts for 8.9% of Lone Pine Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned 1.91% of Vistra worth $1,253,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 29.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,021,000 after acquiring an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE VST opened at $206.51 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $200.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.54. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.49, for a total transaction of $4,307,050.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 264,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,259,650.21. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 422,389 shares of company stock worth $86,992,610 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $227.85.

Vistra Company 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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