Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $141.00. The stock had previously closed at $125.37, but opened at $128.40. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra shares last traded at $133.37, with a volume of 3,362,027 shares trading hands.

VST has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the first quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $46.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.85 and a beta of 1.08. 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 50-day moving average is $86.32 and its 200-day moving average is $83.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a $0.2195 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.37%.

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.