Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 3.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $173.00 and last traded at $170.1430. Approximately 3,637,822 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 5,654,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.40.

Vistra Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.81. The company has a market capitalization of $57.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $659,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 85.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 8,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Vistra by 9,740.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.