Highland Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd 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 lifted its position in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $176.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.82. 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 has a market cap of $59.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $40.78 and a twelve month high of $199.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The company 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.