Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Reduces Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY cut its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,199 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Vistra by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VST shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Down 1.9 %

Vistra stock opened at $166.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.83. The company has a market capitalization of $56.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $42.22 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. 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.