Donoghue Forlines LLC Purchases Shares of 25,003 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 25,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,447,000. Vistra comprises approximately 1.2% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth about $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Vistra by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,296,000 after buying an additional 7,747 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST opened at $191.01 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $39.13 and a twelve month high of $194.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $154.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.