Harvest Investment Services LLC Acquires 8,527 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 199.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,810 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,527 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Vistra by 9.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John William Pitesa bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $106.63 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $65.32 and a twelve month high of $199.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.03. The company has a market capitalization of $36.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.2235 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Vistra from $174.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.17.

Vistra 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.