Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 4.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 4.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $123.73 and last traded at $119.19. 4,709,910 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 7,465,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

Vistra Trading Up 8.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.63. The firm has a market cap of $41.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,326,000 after acquiring an additional 219,055 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vistra by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,261,000 after purchasing an additional 296,714 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.