Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 5.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $156.96 and last traded at $155.9380. 4,004,495 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 4,941,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VST. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.88.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 1.41. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $156.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.67.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 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.