Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $130.90 and last traded at $130.62. 1,951,795 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,984,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.30.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.93. The company has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.44 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 64.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 470.0% in the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,569,000 after buying an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 9,668.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,779,000 after buying an additional 2,910,015 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 115.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after buying an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,358.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after buying an additional 1,143,918 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 315.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,096,000 after buying an additional 893,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.