Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Bought by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 49.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,131 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 60.1% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $137.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.60. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $199.84. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.2235 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VST shares. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.