Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 3.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were up 3.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $149.28 and last traded at $149.1550. Approximately 4,507,862 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 5,206,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.33.

Vistra Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $154.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.39.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued 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 return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Vistra by 2,700.0% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently 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.