Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $155.80 and last traded at $160.47. 2,051,713 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 5,962,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Vistra Stock Down 1.4 %

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.06. The company has a market capitalization of $54.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

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

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $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 three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,069,000. Doliver Advisors LP bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $488,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,639,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.