Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,514 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,493 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $168.08 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.78 and a 52-week high of $199.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.64. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.