Moors & Cabot Inc. Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vistra by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 43.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,755,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,122,000 after purchasing an additional 527,579 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 121.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,536,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,082,000 after purchasing an additional 841,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,384,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,050,000 after acquiring an additional 713,705 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.10.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $161.92 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.11. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.61 and a 1 year high of $168.67.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Vistra Company 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.