Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $2.32 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has invested approximately $2.32 million in Vistra Corp., purchasing 19,733 shares during the first quarter.
• Vistra recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.23.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Vistra, with an average target price of $201.43.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 19,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $633,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Vistra by 452.8% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 496,576 shares of the company's stock worth $68,463,000 after acquiring an additional 406,754 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $416,000. Finally, Alden Global Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC now owns 93,511 shares of the company's stock worth $12,892,000 after purchasing an additional 34,246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Up 1.2%

VST stock traded up $2.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.07. 2,719,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,923,557. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.43. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.90 and a 52-week high of $216.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.33.

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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Melius started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.43.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was 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 company insiders.

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.