Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 2% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $161.18 and last traded at $157.9670. Approximately 2,895,824 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 5,025,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $230.31.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $154.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.60.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 24.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Vistra by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP increased its position in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.