Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.5% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. shares have recently seen a 2.5% increase in trading, with the last price noted at $190.44, following previous fluctuations in volume.
• Wall Street analysts have largely rated Vistra as a "Buy," with several firms, including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, raising their price objectives significantly.
• Vistra also announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend, contributing to a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) traded up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $192.20 and last traded at $190.44. 3,027,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 6,535,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VST. Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.31.

Vistra Trading Up 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $64.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $199.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.12. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 632,966 shares of company stock worth $130,462,677. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,931 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 4.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,884,000 after acquiring an additional 258,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after acquiring an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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