D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,749 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 616.0% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VST shares. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $142.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $160.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.18. 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 has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $48.22 and a 1 year high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.