Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Purchases 14,964 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,964 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $8,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 470.0% in the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 893,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 100.5% during the first quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,720,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,798,000 after acquiring an additional 862,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.40.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $142.09 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.25 and a 1 year high of $149.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.49.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.62%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication 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.