Vistra Corp. (VST) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.22 on March 31st

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.2235 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Vistra has a dividend payout ratio of 10.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Vistra to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $150.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra has a 52 week low of $46.18 and a 52 week high of $199.84.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.