Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys 5,165 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,339 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,165 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 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. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $167.52 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $42.22 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.57.

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