Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $773,000 in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VST. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Vistra from $42.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at $9,470,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company's stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,826,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,136,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.51 and a 200-day moving average of $41.25. The company has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.03. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $22.67 and a 12-month high of $73.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.02%.

Vistra Company 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.