Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price traded up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $173.00 and last traded at $170.1430. 3,637,822 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 5,654,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a PE ratio of 67.39, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.01 and its 200 day moving average is $177.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 41.94%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.