Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Vistra (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 41,929 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average volume of 25,633 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $146.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $118.14.

Vistra Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $138.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Vistra has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $139.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vistra will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a $0.2195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 30,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Vistra by 610.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 160,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,192,000 after acquiring an additional 138,142 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 71,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 633.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 58,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 50,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Vistra by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 71,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 17,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.