Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 258,983 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,175,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,196,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Banque Transatlantique SA boosted its position in Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 210.0% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Melius assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $4,091,535.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,563,433.22. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 745,845 shares of company stock worth $152,178,104 over the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $174.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

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.