Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 9.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 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. 5,994,213 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 6,537,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.52.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.83.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Vistra by 34.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 68,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 17,502 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,829,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth $576,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Up 16.6 %

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 firm has a market cap of $37.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.15 and its 200-day moving average is $80.71.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 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.