Vistra (NYSE:VST) Reaches New 1-Year High at $83.95

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.95 and last traded at $83.95, with a volume of 77925 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VST. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $28.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.28.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.218 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,240 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Vistra by 45.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 22,217 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Vistra by 12.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,551,117 shares of the company's stock worth $184,186,000 after acquiring an additional 597,875 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 767.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 305,193 shares of the company's stock worth $10,126,000 after buying an additional 270,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 74,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.