Vistra (NYSE:VST) Reaches New 52-Week High at $83.95

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.95 and last traded at $83.95, with a volume of 77925 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Vistra Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.28.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a $0.218 dividend. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 33.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 45.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 22,217 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,551,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,186,000 after acquiring an additional 597,875 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vistra by 767.4% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 305,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 270,008 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in Vistra by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,726 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.