Jennison Associates LLC Has $255.65 Million Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,854,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 526,185 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $255,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Vistra by 9.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter worth about $842,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $168.08 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $156.24 and a 200-day moving average of $122.97. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.78 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The company has a market capitalization of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.