Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 1,000,307 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 36.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,781,908 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 1.11% of Vistra worth $448,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $1,675,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Vistra by 588.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,586 shares of the company's stock worth $6,379,000 after buying an additional 78,283 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 9,801 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Vistra by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 141.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 975 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Vistra Price Performance

VST traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,888,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,843,636. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.99 and a 1 year high of $168.67. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $134.36 and a 200 day moving average of $102.80. The company has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.