Berbice Capital Management LLC Invests $124,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $2,135,000. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $3,447,000. Finally, Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VST shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $193.38 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. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $39.69 and a one year high of $199.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.