Vistra (NYSE:VST) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $132.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $111.80 and last traded at $111.80, with a volume of 152512 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.88.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $104.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $77,523,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vistra by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $510,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Up 4.2 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.85. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08.

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). The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 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.