AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership Invests $233,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Enclave Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VST. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.80.

Vistra Trading Up 8.5 %

Vistra stock opened at $185.31 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.26 and a 200-day moving average of $118.41. The company has a market cap of $63.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $39.13 and a one year high of $188.77.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.