Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 6.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares rose 6.3%, reaching a last trading price of $209.22, despite a decline in trading volume by 42% from average levels.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for Vistra, with price targets ranging from $203.00 to $295.00, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Buy."
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, reflecting positive changes in its dividend policy.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) were up 6.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $209.95 and last traded at $209.22. Approximately 3,816,603 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 6,629,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Melius began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.85.

Vistra Stock Up 6.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $200.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.22.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra's payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 463,350 shares of company stock worth $95,374,138. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1.9% in the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock worth $30,021,000 after buying an additional 57,551 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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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