Concentric Capital Strategies LP Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Concentric Capital Strategies LP reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,029 shares during the quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after purchasing an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 33.5% in 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 period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 797,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Vistra by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,755,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,122,000 after buying an additional 527,579 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE VST opened at $154.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.37. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $35.99 and a one year high of $168.67.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

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.