National Pension Service Sells 61,773 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

National Pension Service decreased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 626,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,773 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Vistra were worth $86,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in Vistra by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $147.84 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 1 year low of $48.22 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The company has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $160.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.70.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

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

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.