Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Position Increased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 209.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,395 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,502 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Vistra by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vistra by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after buying an additional 7,747 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $191.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.07. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $39.69 and a twelve month high of $199.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.20.

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.