Norges Bank Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,967,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409,087,000. Norges Bank owned 0.87% of Vistra 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 VST. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in Vistra by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at $6,341,513.97. This represents a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $119.05 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $147.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $64.26 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

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.