Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,499 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Vistra were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Vistra by 36.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,299 shares of the company's stock worth $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,897 shares of the company's stock worth $5,838,000 after buying an additional 18,740 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 52.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 58,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 19,957 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Vistra by 5.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,313,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VST. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $17.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $172.40. 8,625,775 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,057,401. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $155.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.44. The company has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $40.78 and a 12-month high of $199.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.