Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 3.7% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) dropped 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $156.31 and last traded at $160.50. Approximately 2,181,872 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 6,616,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra Trading Down 0.8 %

The stock's 50 day moving average is $149.69 and its 200-day moving average is $115.43. The company has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company's stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 lifted its position in Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP increased its position in Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company's stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares in 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.

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