Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Vistra shares jumped 7% in midday trading, reaching as high as $144.90 on volume well above average, suggesting strong investor interest in the stock.
• The company beat Wall Street’s latest expectations, reporting $2.87 EPS versus $1.32 expected and revenue of $5.64 billion versus $5.22 billion estimated in its most recent earnings release.
• Analysts remain generally positive despite recent target cuts, with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $233.93; Vistra also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.229 per share.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) rose 7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $144.90 and last traded at $144.1540. Approximately 7,868,716 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 51% from the average daily volume of 5,219,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $233.93.

Vistra Trading Up 7.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.71.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company's stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company's stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Vistra by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company's stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

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