Verus Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,771 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Vistra by 4.8% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,962,000 after buying an additional 21,418 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $504,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 38.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Vistra Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:VST opened at $133.85 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $53.02 and a one year high of $199.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.