Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Buys Shares of 18,382 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 18,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra by 65.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $231,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 412.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 13.0% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 101,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,740,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 3,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:VST opened at $144.94 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $37.38 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

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.