Patton Fund Management Inc. Buys 14,945 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 858.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,685 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,945 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter worth $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. City State Bank raised its stake in Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 19,300.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Vistra by 223.3% during the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.40.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 657,021 shares of company stock worth $127,933,042. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.8%

Vistra stock opened at $161.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $54.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.38, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.06.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.227 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

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.