Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $152.61 and last traded at $161.02. 7,193,605 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 6,901,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.50.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $54.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.06.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction 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 owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth 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 bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors 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.