Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,330 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 4.2% in the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $154.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.03. 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 1-year low of $34.88 and a 1-year high of $168.67.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.10.

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.