Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,354 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $9,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vistra by 115.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1,358.2% in 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 grew its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Vistra by 315.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after purchasing an additional 893,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VST. 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of VST stock traded down $4.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $162.63. 6,259,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,238,984. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.31. The company has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $38.95 and a fifty-two week high of $169.19. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

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.