Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $171.68 and last traded at $171.4640. Approximately 4,360,615 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 6,088,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.73.

Vistra Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.34. The company has a market capitalization of $58.10 billion, a PE ratio of 61.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.228 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,880,000 after acquiring an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth $930,080,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.