Westover Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,648 shares during the quarter. Vistra comprises about 1.8% of Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra by 28.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Vistra by 9.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 159,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,927,000 after purchasing an additional 13,897 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 74,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 7.4 %

NYSE:VST opened at $123.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $55.28 and a one year high of $199.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.83. 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 of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.