Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 62.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,008,838 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 389,497 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $38,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Vistra by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Vistra by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $79.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.83.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.82. The company had a trading volume of 782,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,515,179. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $24.60 and a 1-year high of $107.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a PE ratio of 54.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.22.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.39). Vistra had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 5.66%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a $0.218 dividend. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 52.76%.

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.