First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Takes $433,000 Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,898,000 after acquiring an additional 797,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 400.9% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 827,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,033,000 after purchasing an additional 661,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $136.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.79. 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 Corp. has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $199.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VST. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 $171.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.