Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 3.5% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares shot up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $147.45 and last traded at $146.7120. 3,916,025 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 5,152,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Williams Trading set a $202.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.24.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The company has a market cap of $49.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James A. Burke acquired 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $3,529,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 143,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 30.9% during the third quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.