Vistra Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VST)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyVistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 53,525 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 115% compared to the average volume of 24,860 put options.
Analyst Ratings Changes
VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.40.
Read Our Latest Report on Vistra
Vistra Trading Down 2.2%
NYSE:VST traded down $3.38 on Thursday, reaching $151.22. 5,619,735 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,930,776. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.09 and its 200-day moving average is $188.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41.
Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Vistra Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $0.227 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,772,476. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 427,240 shares of company stock valued at $81,474,221 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Vistra
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 40.5% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vistra by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after buying an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,390,000 after buying an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Vistra Company Profile
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.
Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.