Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 2.5% – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price shot up 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $140.26 and last traded at $139.0910. Approximately 3,885,216 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 4,935,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50 and a beta of 1.41. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.72.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,667,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Vistra by 15,825.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,896,343,000 after buying an additional 61,994,589 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $961,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in Vistra by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 23,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.