2,020 Shares in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Bought by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 470.0% during the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 9,668.5% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,779,000 after buying an additional 2,910,015 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 115.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after buying an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,358.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Vistra by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,096,000 after acquiring an additional 893,093 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $141.90 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $34.24 and a 52-week high of $144.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.40.

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.