Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $164.21 and last traded at $163.42. Approximately 4,597,465 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 6,038,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.40.

Vistra Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $163.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.78.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $930,080,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,660,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 15.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.