Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 3.7% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price fell 3.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $156.31 and last traded at $160.50. 2,181,872 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 6,616,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.31. The company has a market cap of $54.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

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 issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in Vistra by 33.5% during the 3rd 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. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

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.