Banco Santander S.A. Sells 2,831 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,831 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VST. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Vistra by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $576,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $161.93 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.61 and a 1 year high of $168.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $125.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.36.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

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.