Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Decreases Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 187,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118,194 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Vistra were worth $25,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its position in Vistra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Vistra by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC raised its position in Vistra by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.83.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $119.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $64.26 and a 52-week high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.65.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 12.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This trade represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company 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.