Payden & Rygel Buys 34,300 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Payden & Rygel sharply increased its Vistra stake in the fourth quarter, buying 34,300 additional shares and lifting its holdings by 3,118.2% to 35,400 shares worth about $5.7 million.
• Vistra reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.87 versus estimates of $1.32 and revenue of $5.64 billion, while analysts still expect full-year EPS of 9.31.
• The company boosted its dividend and remains a Wall Street favorite, with a quarterly payout of $0.229 per share and an average analyst rating of “Buy” plus a consensus price target of $233.93.

Payden & Rygel raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Vistra were worth $5,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.8% during the third 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Vistra by 11.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,983,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,599,000 after acquiring an additional 303,573 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,344,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,264,000 after acquiring an additional 16,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 9.5% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,056,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,951,000 after acquiring an additional 178,835 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of VST opened at $136.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Corp. has a 1-year low of $133.86 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.72 and a 200 day moving average of $164.17.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $233.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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