Vistra (NYSE:VST) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) reached a new 52-week high of $217.90 during Monday trading, closing at $215.46 with a volume of over 1.6 million shares.
• The company has received mixed ratings from analysts, with two analysts recommending a strong buy while others have issued a sell rating, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Vistra recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 14.35%.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $217.90 and last traded at $215.46, with a volume of 1607146 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $209.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.43.

Vistra Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.89. The company has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 29.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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