Costello Asset Management INC Invests $606,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 5,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plan Group Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $234,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,667,000. Credit Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 34.1% in the first quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 262,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,853,000 after purchasing an additional 66,763 shares during the period. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $534,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at $48,136,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. UBS Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.69.

Vistra Trading Up 2.9%

Vistra stock opened at $214.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.32. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $66.50 and a one year high of $215.13.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

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.