Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 673 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value 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 represents a 5.50 % 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 Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE VST opened at $168.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $40.78 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

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.