Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $9.44 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 59,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,267,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $432,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $113,000. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,333,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $146.58 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $154.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.42. The firm has a market cap of $49.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.56.

Vistra 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.