Private Trust Co. NA Grows Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 168.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,742 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Vistra were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Vistra by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Vistra by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $123.79 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $55.28 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.13 and a 200-day moving average of $134.83.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be 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 is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VST. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.