Vistra (NYSE:VST) Hits New 1-Year High at $73.24

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $73.24 and last traded at $72.48, with a volume of 1568105 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vistra from $42.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $61.75.

Vistra Stock Up 3.7 %

The company has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.90.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 over the last quarter. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Vistra by 2.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 458,182 shares of the company's stock worth $10,653,000 after acquiring an additional 11,136 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 2.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,939,759 shares of the company's stock worth $556,597,000 after acquiring an additional 534,299 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 15.5% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,786 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in Vistra by 44.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,151 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.