Moors & Cabot Inc. Grows Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,516 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 520 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $409,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its holdings in Vistra by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 131,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,107,000 after acquiring an additional 48,000 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 4,888 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 58,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,061,000 after purchasing an additional 7,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VST. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.83.

Vistra Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $124.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.04. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $60.86 and a 12-month high of $199.84. The stock 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

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.