FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.29 Million in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vistra by 115.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after buying an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Vistra by 1,358.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after buying an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Vistra by 315.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after buying an additional 893,093 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Vistra by 121.1% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,536,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,082,000 after buying an additional 841,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 60.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VST. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $154.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $34.88 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, 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 transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.