Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 13,634 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 129.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,169 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,634 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 35.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $702,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vistra by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,182,000 after purchasing an additional 29,550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of VST opened at $138.51 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.25 and a 1 year high of $149.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.78. The firm has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised 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, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.40.

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.