Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares shot up 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $146.11 and last traded at $143.5460. Approximately 3,876,573 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 4,874,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Vistra Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $147.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.94.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Junto Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 126.5% in the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 535,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,019,000 after acquiring an additional 299,309 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 39.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 34.3% in the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 467,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,091,000 after buying an additional 44,351 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.