Verus Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VST. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.2% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.0% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.40.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $142.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.17. The stock has a market cap of $48.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $34.24 and a 52 week high of $149.80.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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