Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $169.06 and last traded at $168.84. Approximately 2,533,501 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 4,968,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.62.

Vistra Trading Down 3.5%

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $156.05 and its 200-day moving average is $158.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.229 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.41%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 worth $6,739,227 over the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northside Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 4.9% during the second quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,174,000 after buying an additional 6,582 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $414,000. Tema ETFs LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 10.5% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,812,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.