Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 12,563 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,563 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Vistra by 65.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 1,965 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 412.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 3,109 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 13.0% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 101,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after buying an additional 11,665 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 30.2% during the second quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 3,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.10.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.60 and its 200 day moving average is $106.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $37.38 and a 52-week high of $168.67.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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.