Verition Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 16.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 202,166 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,761 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $23,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 115.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Vistra by 1,358.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Vistra by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after purchasing an additional 893,093 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Vistra by 121.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,536,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,082,000 after purchasing an additional 841,292 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after buying an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $154.52 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.88 and a 1 year high of $168.67. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $132.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.77. The company has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.221 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra 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 directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

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.