Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 16,490 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,094 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,490 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $8,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of VST stock opened at $189.33 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The stock has a market cap of $64.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.34. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 75,946 shares of the company’s stock, 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, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.43.

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.