Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 183,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,281,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Vistra as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 60.1% during the third 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $133.85 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $160.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.67. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $53.02 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The company has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VST. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

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.