Alkeon Capital Management LLC Buys 1,000,000 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 280.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Vistra worth $262,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VST. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. City State Bank increased 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 19,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VST. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Scotiabank started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.20.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.27 and a 200-day moving average of $189.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.39. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82. 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 (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 41,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.32, for a total value of $8,339,882.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 246,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,629,809.04. The trade was a 14.39% 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 784,299 shares of company stock worth $155,981,703 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.