Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 3.5% – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $173.00 and last traded at $170.1430. 3,637,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 5,654,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.40.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $163.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.81. The firm has a market cap of $57.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.228 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $659,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Vistra by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 8,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9,740.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.