Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Position Increased by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,771 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in 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. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $133.85 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $53.02 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $160.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.67. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.