Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 6.6%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $102.88 and last traded at $102.46. Approximately 3,259,688 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 6,230,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.50.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.37. The stock has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 5.66%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.218 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.