Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up to $85.98

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $85.98, but opened at $88.74. Vistra shares last traded at $91.23, with a volume of 1,126,872 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $79.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.83.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.39). Vistra had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.218 per share. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.37%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Lisa Crutchfield bought 335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $89.46 per share, with a total value of $29,969.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,879,359.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Vistra by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.