Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $166.50 and last traded at $171.10. Approximately 8,254,135 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,420,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.80.

Vistra Trading Up 8.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 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 (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $433,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 619.0% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its stake in Vistra by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 187,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,864,000 after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.