Private Trust Co. NA Increases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 168.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,742 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Vistra were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the period. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,781,000. Finally, Legal Advantage Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $123.79 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $55.28 and a 1-year high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.