Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Acquired by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VST. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Vistra by 232.6% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 40,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,247,000 after buying an additional 28,300 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Vistra by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,838,000 after buying an additional 18,740 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Vistra by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 58,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after buying an additional 19,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seaport Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $816,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value 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 trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $136.96 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.79. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $199.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.