Wright Investors Service Inc. Invests $283,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 1,505.9% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:VST opened at $162.63 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $38.95 and a one year high of $169.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.