Bensler LLC Buys 8,632 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Bensler LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,116 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,632 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 3.0% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.40.

Vistra Trading Up 7.6 %

VST opened at $135.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a PE ratio of 99.80 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $34.24 and a twelve month high of $143.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average of $94.28.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

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

Vistra Company 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.