Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 3.3% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $161.48 and last traded at $158.5270. 4,633,471 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 5,126,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VST. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.33.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,088 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Vistra in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.