Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 6.7% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 6.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $182.56 and last traded at $180.25. Approximately 7,008,376 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 6,893,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.40.

Vistra Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 32.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $1,424,763.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,842,690.90. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 300,362 shares of company stock valued at $55,194,619 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN raised its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 168,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $499,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $292,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,830,000 after acquiring an additional 35,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 55.3% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 6,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. 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.