BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $6.87 Million Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 13.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,659 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Vistra were worth $6,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VST. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 6.6% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in Vistra by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Vistra by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,755,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,122,000 after purchasing an additional 527,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $159.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $34.89 and a 52 week high of $168.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $133.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.