Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Bought by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 56.8%, acquiring an additional 282,230 shares, bringing the total to approximately 778,806 shares valued at $91.46 million.
• Vistra recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend, with an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 14.35%.
• Vistra reported a loss in its latest earnings, with an EPS of $1.01 against a consensus estimate of $1.63, and revenue of $4.25 billion compared to the expected $5.15 billion.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 56.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 778,806 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 282,230 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.23% of Vistra worth $91,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Up 1.2%

VST traded up $2.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $196.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,373,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,331,695. The company has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $195.43 and a 200-day moving average of $159.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $72.90 and a 1-year high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.