Aigen Investment Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 13.2%, now owning 12,284 shares worth approximately $1.44 million.
• Vistra announced a quarterly dividend increase, now set at $0.226 per share, with a payment date of September 30th.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, falling short of the expected $1.63 EPS.

Aigen Investment Management LP cut its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,862 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Vistra were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $34,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the company'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 value of $16,953,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Three equities research 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.62.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST traded down $4.08 on Wednesday, hitting $205.48. 4,109,853 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,321,755. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $190.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.