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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was up 3.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $155.45 and last traded at $153.47. Approximately 4,376,104 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 5,138,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.72. 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 company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,088 shares of company stock worth $1,634,227. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 37.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% during the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.