Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 93,951 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 103.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 93,951 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Vistra worth $35,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Vistra by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,102,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,166,000 after purchasing an additional 57,358 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,149,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,712,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,943,000 after buying an additional 329,294 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,470,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,717,000 after acquiring an additional 118,230 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $190.65 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.88% and a net margin of 6.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 9,641 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $1,853,964.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,491,354.10. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 723,910 shares of company stock valued at $148,086,569 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.