Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 5.9% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded down 5.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $139.01 and last traded at $141.56. 4,466,423 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 8,852,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Trading Down 4.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.19 and a 200-day moving average of $132.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Vistra by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,781,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.