Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 2.2% – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares shot up 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $146.11 and last traded at $143.5460. 3,876,573 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 4,874,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.88.

Vistra Stock Up 2.2%

The stock has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $147.91 and its 200 day moving average is $153.23.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Junto Capital Management LP increased its position in Vistra by 126.5% during the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 535,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,019,000 after acquiring an additional 299,309 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Vistra by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in Vistra by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Vistra by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 467,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,091,000 after purchasing an additional 44,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.