Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares shot up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $163.63 and last traded at $162.4870. Approximately 5,249,469 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 5,112,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Vistra Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 308,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,469,648.10. This represents a 6.71% 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 own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Premier Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 141.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 46.6% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.