15,238 Shares in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Purchased by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 15,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $191.70 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $39.13 and a one year high of $199.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $155.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.39.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. 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 transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company 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.