Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stake Decreased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,495,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640,345 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Vistra were worth $343,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Vistra by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after buying an additional 6,920 shares during the period. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $17,781,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 7.2 %

Shares of VST opened at $147.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $48.22 and a 1-year high of $199.84.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

About Vistra

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.