Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded up 5.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $138.21 and last traded at $137.65. 2,158,251 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 7,484,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.42 and a 200-day moving average of $139.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at $6,341,513.97. This represents a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,326,000 after buying an additional 219,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vistra by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 2,433,732 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,261,000 after acquiring an additional 296,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% 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.