Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Vistra (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 16,203 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical volume of 10,296 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,146,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,779,000 after buying an additional 300,355 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 19,070.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,566,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537,584 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 12.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,551,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,186,000 after purchasing an additional 597,875 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,190,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,228,000 after purchasing an additional 575,799 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,797,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,800,000 after purchasing an additional 282,056 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $82.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.99. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $23.24 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Vistra will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a $0.218 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 24.02%.

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.