Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $149.45 and last traded at $149.27. 4,579,455 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 4,889,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of 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 target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Trading Up 3.5%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,988 shares of company stock valued at $5,178,427. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vistra by 15,825.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,896,343,000 after purchasing an additional 61,994,589 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $574,499,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth $468,354,000. 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.