Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 1.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $116.20 and last traded at $114.75. 1,208,381 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,867,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Three equities 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.69.

Vistra Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a market cap of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.62%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. This trade represents a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Vistra by 9.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the period. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $565,000. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.