Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.22 Per Share

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a dividend of 0.218 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Vistra has increased its dividend by an average of 15.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Vistra has a dividend payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Vistra to earn $4.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.86 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.1%.

Vistra Trading Up 2.0 %

VST traded up $1.62 on Friday, hitting $81.49. 5,588,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,651,998. 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 has a 12 month low of $22.69 and a 12 month high of $83.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.02.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VST. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Insider Activity

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

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.