Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded down 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $163.12 and last traded at $166.39. 2,731,451 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 9,151,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $56.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.85.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % 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. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. CWM LLC raised its position in Vistra by 26.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Vistra by 33.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after buying an additional 7,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.