Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Bought by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,255 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,582 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.05% of Vistra worth $20,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $5,650,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,073 shares in the company, valued at $14,218,505.12. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.92.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $194.86 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $170.58 and its 200-day moving average is $151.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $66.50 and a 12-month high of $200.25.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.225 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.15%.

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.

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