Vistra (NYSE:VST) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. shares reached a new 52-week high of $215.13 during trading, closing at $214.10, reflecting increased investor interest.
• Recent analyst upgrades include UBS raising the target price from $207 to $230 with a "buy" rating, indicating strong confidence in the company's prospects.
• Vistra announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, up from $0.23, highlighting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $215.13 and last traded at $214.10, with a volume of 4618464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.69.

Vistra Trading Up 2.3%

The stock has a market cap of $69.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's fifty day moving average price is $187.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.24.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.15%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Fogel Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fogel Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.