Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 1.4% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 1.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $154.16 and last traded at $153.7770. Approximately 2,185,581 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 5,420,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $52.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.34.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $484,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $659,000. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Vistra by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 8,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $282,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. 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.