Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 6% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $153.01 and last traded at $153.50. Approximately 1,848,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,820,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $56.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 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.