Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Purchased by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,786 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Vistra by 116.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 898 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 7,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $191.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $39.13 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.39.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. BNP Paribas assumed 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. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company 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.