Vistra (NYSE:VST) Sets New 52-Week High at $72.98

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.98 and last traded at $72.61, with a volume of 398914 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Vistra from $42.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Vistra Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.32 and a 200 day moving average of $40.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397. 1.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Vistra by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after buying an additional 155,533 shares during the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $831,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 323.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 166.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 189,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,286,000 after acquiring an additional 118,426 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $3,703,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.