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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 55,876 Vistra call options on Wednesday, about 129% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Insider selling: EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $160.31, reducing her ownership by about 8.04%.
• Mixed stock backdrop: Vistra shares fell to $142.50, but the company recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average Buy rating and target price of $233.93.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 55,876 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 129% compared to the average daily volume of 24,434 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 7.1% during the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.0% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $233.93.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST traded down $4.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.50. 4,322,331 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,133,056. The company's 50 day moving average price is $157.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.72. The firm has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.43. Vistra has a 52 week low of $138.53 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

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.

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