Stephen J. Muscato Sells 207,100 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Vistra Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $154.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.40. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $34.88 and a 12-month high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

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

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp raised its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after purchasing an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in Vistra by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

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.