Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 2.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $160.20 and last traded at $155.7740. 4,549,056 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 5,608,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.03. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,445,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth $8,755,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 78,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,722,000 after purchasing an additional 22,492 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,241,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Vistra by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 371,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,784,000 after purchasing an additional 122,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.