Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 2.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Vistra's stock price increased by 2.6%, closing at $210.96 after trading as high as $216.04, despite volume declining by 18% from its average.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings with three issuing a Strong Buy, ten a Buy, and two a Hold rating, reflecting confidence in the stock's performance and a consensus target price of $227.58.
• Vistra recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, marking a boost from the previous dividend of $0.23, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $216.04 and last traded at $210.96. Approximately 5,386,854 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 6,605,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped 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. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.58.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $200.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.07. The stock has a market cap of $71.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,365 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.55, for a total value of $4,434,305.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 269,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,907,328.40. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 463,350 shares of company stock valued at $95,374,138. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 175.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $432,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 198,367 shares of the company's stock worth $23,296,000 after acquiring an additional 23,569 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $804,000. Finally, Fogel Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $919,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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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