CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Buys Shares of 78,819 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 78,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,867,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after purchasing an additional 425,126 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $169.18 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $38.95 and a 12-month high of $178.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.55 and a 200-day moving average of $115.81.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

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.