Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 9.6%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price was up 9.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $89.74 and last traded at $89.57. Approximately 3,891,118 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 6,027,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.33.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03 and a beta of 1.02.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be paid a $0.218 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 24.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Vistra by 90.4% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 155,533 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Vistra by 323.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is 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.