Americana Partners LLC Increases Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 145.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company's stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company's stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company's stock worth $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company's stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $12.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.51. 9,944,101 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,996,157. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $46.18 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.19 and a 200 day moving average of $131.92.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.64.

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.