Sanctuary Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 41.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,237 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,178 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $15,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after buying an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 654,568 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VST. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $144.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $37.38 and a 52 week high of $168.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $139.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.15. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.