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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 35,126 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 13% compared to the average daily volume of 31,099 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Up 8.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $162.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra has a 52-week low of $38.08 and a 52-week high of $168.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.31. The firm has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 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 quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 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.