Doliver Advisors LP Buys New Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Doliver Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Vistra by 115.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Vistra by 1,358.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after buying an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Vistra by 315.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after acquiring an additional 893,093 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Up 1.0 %

Vistra stock opened at $163.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.18. The firm has a market cap of $55.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $38.08 and a twelve month high of $168.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.50.

Vistra Company 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.