Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires 7,782 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,673 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,782 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Vistra were worth $22,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 797,894 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% during the third 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 last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $167.59 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $44.25 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The company has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra declared 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 repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.