Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 2,908 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,908 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,488 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Vistra by 1,358.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,918 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 315.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,096,000 after buying an additional 893,093 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 100.5% during the first quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,720,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,798,000 after buying an additional 862,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 121.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,536,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,082,000 after buying an additional 841,292 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:VST opened at $161.93 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.36. 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 Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $34.61 and a fifty-two week high of $168.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.10.

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.