Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Takes $65,000 Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vistra by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $191.01 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.69 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.19 and a 200-day moving average of $120.27. The stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, 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 authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were 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 was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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.