BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 160,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,800 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up approximately 6.8% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Vistra were worth $22,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 81,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,253,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269 shares during the period. Bensler LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $339,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 9.0 %

VST opened at $149.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.89 and a 200-day moving average of $121.20. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.