Vistra Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 52,781 call options on the company. This is an increase of 32% compared to the average daily volume of 39,867 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST traded up $12.33 on Tuesday, hitting $149.41. 20,891,480 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,916,235. Vistra has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $199.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after purchasing an additional 797,894 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.