Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share 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 traded 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.30.

Vistra Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.93. The company has a market cap of $43.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.11 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 64.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Vistra during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,360 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $971,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.