Atika Capital Management LLC Sells 36,500 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Atika Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,500 shares during the quarter. Vistra accounts for 1.1% of Atika Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Atika Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $10,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VST. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vistra by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in Vistra by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $97.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.42. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $64.26 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.23.

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.