Alerus Financial NA Purchases Shares of 32,613 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Alerus Financial NA acquired a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,496,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,087,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $237,441,000. Appaloosa LP grew its position in Vistra by 112.5% in 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. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased 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 in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $119.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.65. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $64.26 and a 1 year high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 12.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.83.

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.