Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,896,000 after buying an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,390,000 after acquiring an additional 913,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2,341.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,755,000 after acquiring an additional 830,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $161.76 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 issued a $0.227 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,842,690.90. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 571,517 shares of company stock worth $110,686,046 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.40.

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.