Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $4.02 Million Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vistra were worth $4,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 616.0% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $147.84 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.12 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.70.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VST. Bank of America began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

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.