Glendon Capital Management LP Buys 170,000 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Glendon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 748,893 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Vistra makes up about 5.1% of Glendon Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Glendon Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.22% of Vistra worth $87,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its holdings in Vistra by 10.5% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 13,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Estate Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 0.8% in the first quarter. Estate Counselors LLC now owns 21,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Atika Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 57.8% in the first quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 116,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,623,000 after buying an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP acquired a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $362,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $190.1080 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $72.90 and a 52 week high of $216.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $64.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $193.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.19.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $5,650,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,218,505.12. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 255,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,650 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.93.

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.