Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price traded up 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $161.98 and last traded at $160.01. 6,633,922 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 7,430,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. Bank of America decreased their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $54.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This trade represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 236,007 shares of company stock valued at $42,305,477 in the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after buying an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during 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 buying an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Vistra by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.