Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 1.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $163.50 and last traded at $161.9050. 2,747,740 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 5,782,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.40.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.48 and a 200-day moving average of $178.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The company has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%.The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,445,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,241,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $292,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 371,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,784,000 after acquiring an additional 122,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,059,000. 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.