Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 5.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were up 5.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $138.21 and last traded at $137.65. Approximately 2,158,251 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 7,484,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

Vistra Trading Up 3.0 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.08. The firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. This represents a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,326,000 after acquiring an additional 219,055 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vistra by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,261,000 after purchasing an additional 296,714 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.