Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 44.2%, owning 34,509 shares valued at $4.05 million as of the end of Q1.
• Vistra's stock has seen rising interest from analysts, with price targets from firms like Morgan Stanley ($186) and Raymond James ($216), alongside a "Moderate Buy" rating from MarketBeat.
• Insider transactions included EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore selling 35,000 shares, decreasing her ownership by 28.44%, which indicates some level of insider movement within the company.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 44.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,509 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,575 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Vistra were worth $4,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its stake in Vistra by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,409 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 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 valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at $13,037,649.82. This represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This represents a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Up 4.7%

NYSE VST traded up $9.23 on Wednesday, hitting $207.23. 5,479,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,562,898. The company has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $66.50 and a 12 month high of $207.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.20 and a 200-day moving average of $154.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.69.

Vistra 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.