Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Purchases Shares of 48,724 Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired 48,724 shares of Vistra Corp. valued at approximately $5.72 million during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Northern Trust Corp, have also increased their stakes in Vistra, with 90.88% of the stock currently held by such entities.
• Vistra recently announced a dividend increase, declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.226, representing a yield of 0.5%, up from the previous $0.23 per share.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 48,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,722,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Vistra by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 943,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,761,000 after acquiring an additional 323,264 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at about $341,000. Senator Investment Group LP grew its stake in Vistra by 162.3% during the 1st quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 411,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,365,000 after acquiring an additional 254,841 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Vistra by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,011,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Melius started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,946 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock worth $18,579,650. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST traded up $0.0160 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $190.2960. 3,444,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,641,922. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $194.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.34. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.90 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.