Scott B. Helm Sells 20,000 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, 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 through this link.

Vistra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $145.13 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.85. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $37.31 and a 52-week high of $168.67. The company has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vistra by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Vistra by 1,358.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 315.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after acquiring an additional 893,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.10.

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.