Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 9.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

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

VST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.71.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $1,675,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 142.2% in the fourth quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 54,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after buying an additional 32,276 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Vistra by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 115,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,453,000 after buying an additional 33,738 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Vistra by 633.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 58,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after buying an additional 50,672 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $673,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Up 15.1 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.96 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 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.