Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 56.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,067 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 6.6% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $139.80 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.44. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $37.38 and a 1 year high of $168.67.

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 $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. 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 on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten 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 price target of $149.10.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.