Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 7% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price fell 7% during 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Vistra Stock Down 12.4 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.70. The company has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, 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 current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Vistra by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after buying an additional 2,433,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $286,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $237,441,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 112.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

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.