Short Interest in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Decreases By 16.5%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,170,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the January 15th total of 9,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Vistra Stock Up 1.2 %

VST opened at $167.59 on Friday. Vistra has a 12 month low of $44.25 and a 12 month high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $158.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.78.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 2,433,732 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $286,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $237,441,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,612 shares in 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.