Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Takes Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Campbell Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Vistra by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,872,000 after buying an additional 7,001 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $821,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 53,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,567 shares in the last quarter. Appaloosa LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,825,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

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

Vistra Trading Up 5.4 %

VST opened at $124.42 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $60.86 and a one year high of $199.84. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

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.