Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Vistra Call Options (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 90,672 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 213% compared to the average volume of 28,960 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Vistra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 90,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 8.0% during the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 61,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 4.1% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.31.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST traded down $2.18 on Wednesday, reaching $153.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,822,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,033,441. Vistra has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.21 and a 200 day moving average of $158.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid 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 was Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Vistra Company Profile

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.