Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 6% – Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VST. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.72.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid 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 an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

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

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Vistra by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 11,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.2% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.