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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $125.00. The stock had previously closed at $92.74, but opened at $99.73. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra shares last traded at $100.64, with a volume of 2,905,182 shares traded.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $39,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 16.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.15 and a 200 day moving average of $80.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $37.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a $0.2195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.