WESPAC Advisors LLC Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Vistra by 60.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra 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 $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $150.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $46.18 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $160.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.33.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VST. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.