Coatue Management LLC Boosts Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 7.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 512,811 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,642 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $100,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vistra by 32.2% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 2,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Clear Street Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $2,902,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 97.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 630,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,528,000 after purchasing an additional 20,637 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 201.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,138,000 after purchasing an additional 58,499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VST shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $159.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 73.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Vistra Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower?carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.