Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 2.7% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price shot up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $171.35 and last traded at $167.3480. Approximately 3,573,618 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 5,119,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.31.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a market cap of $56.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 valued at $6,739,227 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Vistra by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Vistra by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.