Harvey Capital Management Inc. Invests $1.53 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Harvey Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 36,588 shares of company stock valued at $5,914,427 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $139.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.61. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

About Vistra

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.