Alta Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 49,938 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Alta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 49,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,865,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,326,000 after buying an additional 219,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Vistra by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,261,000 after acquiring an additional 296,714 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $409,087,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,964,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,677,000 after acquiring an additional 353,949 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 255,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of VST stock opened at $181.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The firm has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.37 and a 200-day moving average of $146.03. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $66.50 and a 12-month high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.225 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.15%.

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.