Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp., purchasing 2,360 shares valued at approximately $277,000 in Q1, highlighting increasing interest from large investors.
• Insider activity has been notable, with Director Scott B. Helm selling 50,000 shares for over $8.6 million, indicating a decrease in ownership and activity among executives.
• Vistra recently announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.225 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and demonstrating the company's commitment to return value to shareholders.

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,409 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VST traded up $6.89 on Wednesday, hitting $204.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,727,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,357,161. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $180.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $66.50 and a fifty-two week high of $207.12.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.15%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.69.

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.