West Michigan Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake 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 buying an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VST. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $133.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.44. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $53.02 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 company has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

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.