Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 14,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel raised its position in Vistra by 3,118.2% in the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Vistra by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,343,000 after purchasing an additional 192,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,479,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $150.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.98.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.31.

Vistra Company Profile

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.