Grassi Investment Management Purchases Shares of 2,775 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Grassi Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,420,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE VST traded down $5.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $161.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,632,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,002,423. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.78 and a 200 day moving average of $114.31. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $38.95 and a twelve month high of $169.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

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

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.