Private Advisor Group LLC Buys 3,629 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,995 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,629 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $147.84 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.