Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 2.4% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 2.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $128.70 and last traded at $127.99. 1,706,256 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,960,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $146.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.30.

Vistra Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.54 and a 200 day moving average of $90.43. The company has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.03 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 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 company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a $0.2195 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 53.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after buying an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 470.0% during the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9,668.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Vistra by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,564,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,632,000 after purchasing an additional 514,722 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vistra by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.