Karras Company Inc. Purchases New Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Karras Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000. Vistra accounts for approximately 1.1% of Karras Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Payden & Rygel raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% in the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,875,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,445,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 7,556.0% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,875,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $156.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.43. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $154.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.24%.

Vistra Company Profile

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.