Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Sold by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 438 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. Guggenheim increased their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This 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 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE:VST opened at $155.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $155.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.44. 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 12 month low of $40.57 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board 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.