Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 1.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $154.90 and last traded at $151.7960. Approximately 6,926,564 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 4,896,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.13 and a 200 day moving average of $154.53.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 31,988 shares of company stock worth $5,178,427 in the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Vistra by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.