Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,281 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vistra were worth $5,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $209,149,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Vistra by 2,341.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,755,000 after purchasing an additional 830,111 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 102.5% during the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 973,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,309,000 after purchasing an additional 492,765 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $56,876,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 943,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,761,000 after purchasing an additional 323,264 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $209.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.85. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $90.51 and a one year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 463,350 shares of company stock valued at $95,374,138. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.58.

Vistra 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.