Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 4.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $157.57 and last traded at $156.40. 7,820,868 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 49% from the average session volume of 5,240,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.33.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $52.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.