Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Short Interest Down 22.9% in October

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,590,000 shares, a decline of 22.9% from the September 30th total of 13,730,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.40.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $126.66. 4,733,547 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,922,294. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.37 and its 200-day moving average is $91.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Vistra has a 52 week low of $32.17 and a 52 week high of $143.87. The stock has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were given a $0.2195 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.