Donoghue Forlines LLC Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 25,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,447,000. Vistra accounts for about 1.2% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.20.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $191.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.89. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $39.13 and a 52 week high of $194.67. The company has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.