Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Buys 73 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST opened at $191.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $39.13 and a 52-week high of $199.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $155.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VST. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra 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.