Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 10.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,778 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $6,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after buying an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Vistra by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,755,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,122,000 after purchasing an additional 527,579 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 121.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 713,705 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VST. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $154.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.03. The stock has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $34.88 and a 1-year high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.