Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 2.7% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 2.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.35 and last traded at $167.3480. Approximately 3,573,618 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 5,119,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $230.31.

Vistra Stock Down 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The company has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $154.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.37.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% during the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Vistra by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,343,000 after acquiring an additional 192,274 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,479,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.