Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 9.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 9.2% during trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $125.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $102.82 and last traded at $100.99. Approximately 5,994,213 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 6,537,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.52.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on VST. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 16.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 38.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 5.0% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Up 16.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.03 billion, a PE ratio of 64.96 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.2195 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.37%.

About Vistra

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.