Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 0.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.37 and last traded at $169.74. 1,085,445 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,860,155 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.37. The company has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $286,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $237,441,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,612 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.