Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 3.5% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded up 3.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $149.45 and last traded at $149.27. Approximately 4,579,455 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 4,889,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.82. The company has a market capitalization of $50.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,988 shares of company stock valued at $5,178,427. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.