Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Jumps 3.6% – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 3.6% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $146.94 and last traded at $145.0340. 10,734,947 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 117% from the average session volume of 4,955,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.02.

Vistra News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The nuclear expansion has significant revenue visibility because much of the future generation is expected to be covered by long-term agreements, including a reported 20-year power purchase agreement with Meta. Vistra also has a 20-year, 207-megawatt agreement to supply a Texas data center, strengthening its position as a provider of reliable power for artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Vistra Stock Gains as Federal Funds Fuel Nuclear Power Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity reflected bullish positioning: traders purchased 52,402 call options, 52% above the average daily call volume. The heightened activity may indicate increased institutional or speculative interest following the federal-financing reports. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Vistra
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BMO Capital Markets retained an “outperform” rating despite reducing their price target to $210 from $231, leaving substantial implied upside based on the reported trading level. Wall Street brokerages overall rate Vistra “Moderate Buy.” Vistra Stock Price Target Cut by BMO Capital Markets

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Vistra Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.24. The stock has a market cap of $48.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.04 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James Burke bought 4,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,672,987,000 after buying an additional 79,972 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $574,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,616,000 after buying an additional 32,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at $468,354,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.