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

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $135.62 and last traded at $138.02. Approximately 764,443 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,751,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on 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. initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Vistra Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.68. 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 company has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, 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 value of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Vistra by 1,358.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after buying an additional 1,143,918 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 315.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,096,000 after acquiring an additional 893,093 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.