Westend Capital Management LLC Takes $6.20 Million Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 44,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,199,000. Vistra comprises about 1.8% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 42,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.5% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 31,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 51.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 862,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,939,000 after buying an additional 294,494 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $171.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.79. The company has a market capitalization of $58.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $39.08 and a 12-month high of $178.40.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra Company Profile

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.