Brookstone Capital Management Acquires New Shares in Vistra Corp. $VST

Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

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

Vistra Stock Up 5.4%

NYSE:VST opened at $201.62 on Friday. 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 cap of $68.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.94.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 654,583 shares of company stock valued at $134,542,882 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Company 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.