Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 1.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $142.77 and last traded at $142.4430. Approximately 4,284,016 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 4,946,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.06.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $47.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. 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 yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vistra by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vistra by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $746,729,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.