Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Vistra (NYSE:VST)

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 53,525 put options on the company. This is an increase of 115% compared to the typical volume of 24,860 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 427,240 shares of company stock valued at $81,474,221. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,931 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 280.6% during the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $151.22. 5,619,735 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,930,776. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.88. The company has a market cap of $51.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Research analysts predict that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.227 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

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.