GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,806 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at $26,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra Trading Up 8.5 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $162.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $38.08 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.48.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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.