Modus Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 19,138 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 19,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,639,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock traded up $7.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.35. 2,941,375 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,051,842. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $38.08 and a 52-week high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 states in the United States and the District of Columbia.