Bensler LLC Grows Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Bensler LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,677 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $9,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 232.6% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 40,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after buying an additional 28,300 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Vistra by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 18,740 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Vistra by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 58,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 19,957 shares during the period. Finally, Seaport Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $816,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE VST opened at $138.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.79. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The company has a market capitalization of $47.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VST. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.