Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $153.40 and last traded at $154.52. 4,819,867 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 6,884,115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

Vistra Stock Down 5.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.40.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.