Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Vistra by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its stake in Vistra by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $133.85 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.67. The company has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $53.02 and a 12 month high of $199.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents 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. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.