Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires Shares of 1,700 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 616.0% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 7.2 %

NYSE:VST opened at $147.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $48.22 and a one year high of $199.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.