Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 4.4%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.88 and last traded at $72.71. 1,569,253 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,810,784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Vistra from $42.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.75.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.51 and a 200 day moving average of $41.36.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $189,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $471,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $3,659,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 39,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,308 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.