Hartline Investment Corp Purchases New Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Hartline Investment Corp purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,481,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its position in shares of Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $228.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set 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 given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,995 shares of company stock worth $50,757,547 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 7.4%

NYSE:VST opened at $166.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a PE ratio of 60.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.86.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a $0.227 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

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.