ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 112,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,761 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $18,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% during the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,343,000 after acquiring an additional 192,274 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,479,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 3.3%

VST stock opened at $158.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.85. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The company has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 10,088 shares of company stock worth $1,634,227 over the last 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vistra

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.