Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $166.92 and last traded at $165.5880. 3,099,528 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 5,251,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, March 27th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Up 1.6%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.56 and a 200 day moving average of $171.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $322,660,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after buying an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,524,000 after buying an additional 817,876 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

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.