Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 28,058 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 78.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,704 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 28,058 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $8,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,096 shares of the company's stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John William Pitesa bought 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America raised Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.67.

Vistra Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of VST stock traded up $4.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $156.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,240,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,569,984. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.25. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $66.50 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.15%.

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.