Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 3.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $161.48 and last traded at $158.5270. Approximately 4,633,471 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 5,126,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.52.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 35,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,634,227 over the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vistra by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Vistra by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 3.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $55.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.72.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

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.