MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Buys 350 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 56.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 967 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Vistra were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $191.70 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $39.13 and a twelve month high of $199.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $155.22 and its 200 day moving average is $119.39. The company has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

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

Vistra 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.