Zimmer Partners LP Invests $50.44 Million in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,101,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,438,000. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 0.56% of Vistra at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VST. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 156.0% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 2,324.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vistra from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised Vistra from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julie A. Lagacy bought 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.84 per share, with a total value of $248,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,923 shares in the company, valued at $420,367.32. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Julie A. Lagacy acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.84 per share, with a total value of $248,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 16,923 shares in the company, valued at $420,367.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 107,466 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $3,247,622.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 137,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,163,772.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $33.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,786,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,601,387. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $20.76 and a one year high of $34.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.94.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 22.75% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 20th will be given a $0.206 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Vistra Company Profile

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 20 states in the United States and the District of Columbia.