Investment Management Corp of Ontario Raises Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,480 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Vistra were worth $4,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VST. IronBridge Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter worth $236,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 184,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,853,000 after acquiring an additional 5,904 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 11,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avala Global LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,656,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $154.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.22. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $35.99 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The firm has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.