Silvant Capital Management LLC Acquires 21,661 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Silvant Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vistra Corp. by 45.4%, acquiring an additional 21,661 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 69,391 shares worth approximately $8.15 million.
• Vistra recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, an increase from the previous $0.23, and reflects a 0.5% annualized yield.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Vistra, with target prices ranging from $179.00 to $295.00.

Silvant Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 45.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,391 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,661 shares during the quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $8,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,414,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 778,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,463,000 after purchasing an additional 282,230 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 11,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Finally, Kamunting Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VST. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Melius began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.43.

Vistra Stock Up 2.8%

VST stock opened at $195.50 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $66.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

About Vistra

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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