Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 2.8% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 2.8% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $163.63 and last traded at $162.4870. 5,249,469 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 5,112,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VST. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Vistra from $231.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.61.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.22. The stock has a market cap of $54.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at $50,273,219.34. This represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Vistra by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,672,987,000 after buying an additional 79,972 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Vistra by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,616,000 after buying an additional 32,982 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $381,938,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.