Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $39,000 Investment in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Vistra by 60.1% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after buying an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $133.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $53.02 and a one year high of $199.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $160.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

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.