Scotia Capital Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,778,000. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,172,000. Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $303,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Vistra by 188.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 112,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,459,000 after purchasing an additional 73,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.69.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $111.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.35. The firm has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $64.26 and a 12 month high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. This trade represents a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.