Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Invests $7.66 Million in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 64,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,664,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.6 %

VST stock opened at $159.98 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.17 and a twelve month high of $168.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.82 and its 200-day moving average is $104.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Vistra

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.