Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Purchases Shares of 1,700 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 1,505.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 8.5 %

Vistra stock opened at $185.31 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $39.13 and a twelve month high of $188.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $153.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.41. The company has a market capitalization of $63.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VST. UBS Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.