Cidel Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,733 shares of the company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake in Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $166.71 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $42.22 and a twelve month high of $199.84. The firm has a market cap of $56.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.83.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.