Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,570 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VST stock opened at $169.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $45.52 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. 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 declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $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 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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 target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

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.