Vistra Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 35,126 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 13% compared to the average daily volume of 31,099 call options.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $162.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.48. Vistra has a 12-month low of $38.08 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The firm has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $488,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,639,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Vistra by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 94.3% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VST. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

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.