Investors Buy Large Volume of Vistra Call Options (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity hit Vistra, with investors buying 90,672 call contracts on Wednesday — about 213% above the average daily volume.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including director John R. Sult and director Paul M. Barbas, while insiders collectively sold 41,588 shares over the last quarter.
• Vistra shares fell 1.4% to $153.55, even as the company reported a strong prior quarter with EPS of $2.87 versus $1.32 expected and maintained a Buy consensus rating from analysts.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 90,672 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 213% compared to the average daily volume of 28,960 call options.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was 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 a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,660,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,524,000 after acquiring an additional 817,876 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Vistra by 585.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,425,000 after purchasing an additional 775,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Down 1.4%

VST traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $153.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,822,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,033,441. The stock has a market cap of $51.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The business's 50-day moving average is $154.21 and its 200-day moving average is $158.71.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.31.

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.

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