Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 6,196 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,664 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.05% of Vistra worth $21,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company's stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 33.5% in the third 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. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Vistra Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of VST traded up $4.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $146.00. The stock had a trading volume of 6,117,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,806,739. The company has a market cap of $49.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.16. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $168.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.21 and a 200 day moving average of $105.57.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. 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 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.