Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 563,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,336,000. Vistra accounts for 0.5% of Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.17% of Vistra at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,588 shares of company stock worth $5,914,427. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $139.90 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.61.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 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, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.54%.

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.