Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Vistra shares rose 2% on Thursday, trading as high as $161.18 before closing near $157.97, with volume below its recent average.
• Several analysts remain bullish on the stock, with recent price targets ranging from $187 to $210 and MarketBeat’s consensus sitting at $230.31 per share.
• Vistra recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.87 EPS versus $1.32 expected, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.229, equal to a 0.6% annualized yield.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) traded up 2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $161.18 and last traded at $157.9670. 2,895,824 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 5,025,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.31.

Vistra Stock Up 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra's payout ratio is 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Vistra by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership now owns 4,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $242,000. Arista Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at $318,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 22.9% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,096 shares of the company's stock worth $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the company's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

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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