Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded down 7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $134.61 and last traded at $137.76. 6,420,495 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 9,037,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $160.25 and a 200-day moving average of $133.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $286,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $237,441,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in Vistra by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,612 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.