GWN Securities Inc. Invests $322,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vistra by 51.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Appaloosa LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,612 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Up 1.3 %

VST stock opened at $126.12 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.71. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $60.86 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.71%. 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 (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

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.