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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 35,126 call options on the company. This is an increase of 13% compared to the typical volume of 31,099 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VST. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $162.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vistra has a 1 year low of $38.08 and a 1 year high of $168.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, 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 value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 11.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 40,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,180 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Vistra by 277.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 44,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after buying an additional 32,933 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 98,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,569,000 after acquiring an additional 16,326 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Vistra by 2.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 95,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,217,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 13.4% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.