Vistra (NYSE:VST) Reaches New 1-Year High at $76.12

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $76.12 and last traded at $75.95, with a volume of 1360342 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VST. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Vistra Stock Up 5.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.63 and a 200-day moving average of $46.65.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank grew its position in Vistra by 90.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after acquiring an additional 155,533 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Vistra by 323.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.