Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 48.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,913 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $11,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 11,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 1.7 %

Vistra stock opened at $171.10 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $39.08 and a 52-week high of $178.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a market cap of $58.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.99.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra 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.