Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 3.7% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares rose 3.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $155.90 and last traded at $151.4790. Approximately 5,311,837 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 5,716,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.87.

Vistra Trading Down 1.0%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.73. The firm has a market cap of $51.20 billion, a PE ratio of 69.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $930,080,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,660,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 280.6% during the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 15.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.