Simon Quick Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,974 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 189.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 47,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,074,000 after acquiring an additional 30,988 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $2,943,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vistra by 177.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Vistra by 78.6% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,761,000 after buying an additional 24,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $312,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 2.6 %

VST opened at $191.70 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $39.13 and a 52 week high of $199.84. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.39. The company has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

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.