Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up to $85.98

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $85.98, but opened at $88.74. Vistra shares last traded at $91.23, with a volume of 1,126,872 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VST. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.83.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.75 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 24.72%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.218 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 53.37%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Lisa Crutchfield purchased 335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $89.46 per share, with a total value of $29,969.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,879,359.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.