Lone Pine Capital LLC Sells 1,770,478 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Lone Pine Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 27.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,699,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,770,478 shares during the period. Vistra makes up 6.7% of Lone Pine Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $920,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $930,080,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Vistra by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after buying an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Vistra by 11.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,983,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,599,000 after buying an additional 303,573 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 1.9%

VST opened at $161.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $163.46 and its 200-day moving average is $177.98. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.228 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

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.