Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $304,000 Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,172 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 9.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 159,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after purchasing an additional 13,897 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Vistra by 3.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 74,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,814,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Vistra by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 688,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,599,000 after buying an additional 269,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VST. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $166.73.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $126.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.12. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $56.92 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The firm has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

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

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.