Kovack Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 81,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,460 shares during the period. Vistra makes up approximately 1.1% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $11,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 7.2 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $147.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.40 and a 200 day moving average of $133.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.