Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stake Increased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 99,789 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Vistra were worth $13,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 28.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 9.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 159,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after buying an additional 13,897 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 74,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,814,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Vistra by 64.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 688,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,599,000 after purchasing an additional 269,666 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 0.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 130,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,428,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $126.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $199.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.46.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VST shares. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.