Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New $3.70 Million Investment in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,701,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of VST stock traded down $8.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $168.08. 12,153,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,147,235. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $40.78 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The firm has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $156.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.