Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 325 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Vistra were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 654,568 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Vistra Trading Down 7.8 %

VST stock opened at $150.51 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $46.18 and a 1-year high of $199.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $160.19 and its 200-day moving average is $131.92. 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.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 0.59%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra 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.