Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Vistra by 1,358.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after buying an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after acquiring an additional 893,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $145.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.85. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $37.31 and a 52-week high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.10.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.