Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Invests $488,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $842,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vistra by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $17,781,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $162.36 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $38.08 and a fifty-two week high of $168.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.