AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $36,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $163.80.

Vistra Trading Up 8.5 %

NYSE:VST opened at $185.31 on Wednesday. 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 Corp. has a one year low of $39.13 and a one year high of $188.77. The company has a market cap of $63.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.26 and a 200-day moving average of $118.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.60%.

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.