Investors Buy Large Volume of Vistra Call Options (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 41,929 call options on the company. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical volume of 25,633 call options.

Vistra Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $8.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $133.96. The stock had a trading volume of 6,078,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,801,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.60. Vistra has a 12 month low of $31.16 and a 12 month high of $135.30. The company has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a PE ratio of 81.83 and a beta of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were given a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Vistra by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,747 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 38,929.0% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,879,000 after buying an additional 116,787 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $108,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Vistra by 34.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 68,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 17,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $115.14.

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.