Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,473 shares of the company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 3.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.5% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.6% during 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. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in Vistra by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.83.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John William Pitesa bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $439,442.25. This trade represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $130.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $64.26 and a 12-month 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

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.