Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,150,834 shares of the company’s stock after selling 857,381 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $158,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. This represents a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VST. UBS Group raised 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. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.50.

Vistra Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $119.05 on Monday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $64.26 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.83. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

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.