Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 35.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 4,460 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $702,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 20.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,182,000 after purchasing an additional 29,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $142.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $34.25 and a one year high of $149.80.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.40.

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.