Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,798 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,130 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $24,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VST. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 189.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 47,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,074,000 after purchasing an additional 30,988 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 78.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,761,000 after buying an additional 24,375 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Vistra by 384.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,575,000 after buying an additional 236,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Vistra by 64.3% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 66,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 26,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 0.5 %

Vistra stock opened at $191.01 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.07. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $39.69 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

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.