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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 55,876 call options on the company. This is an increase of 129% compared to the average volume of 24,434 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.93.

Vistra Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:VST traded down $4.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,322,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,133,056. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $157.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.72. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $138.53 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 2,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.