Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 3.2%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was up 3.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $117.99 and last traded at $117.77. Approximately 1,748,753 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,760,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.83.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.25 and a beta of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 53.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 470.0% in the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,511 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Vistra by 9,668.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 468.2% during the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,128,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,223 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1,358.2% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.