Bensler LLC Has $7.60 Million Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Bensler LLC lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,116 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,632 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after purchasing an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake in Vistra by 470.0% during the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after buying an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9,668.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 25.1% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,564,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,632,000 after buying an additional 514,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Vistra by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Up 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $135.73 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $34.24 and a 12-month high of $143.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average of $94.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a PE ratio of 99.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 64.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.40.

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.