Americana Partners LLC Grows Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 145.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Vistra by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,753 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 134.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 625,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,123,000 after acquiring an additional 94,268 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $167.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.19. 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 52-week low of $44.25 and a 52-week high of $199.84.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Vistra

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.