Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $167.97 and last traded at $167.62. Approximately 4,940,697 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 5,991,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.40.

Vistra Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a PE ratio of 77.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a $0.228 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter worth about $1,241,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Vistra by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 371,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,784,000 after acquiring an additional 122,545 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Vistra by 6.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,195,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,280,000 after acquiring an additional 70,693 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,830,000 after acquiring an additional 35,444 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.