Calamos Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,927 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $18,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after buying an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vistra by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,884,000 after buying an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the second 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 period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.40.

Vistra Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:VST opened at $162.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $175.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.70. The company has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a PE ratio of 58.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.39. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,842,690.90. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total value of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 532,316 shares of company stock worth $102,961,901. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.