Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $144.16 and last traded at $142.68. 649,421 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,734,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.10.

Vistra Trading Up 1.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.07. The company has a market cap of $48.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Vistra in the third quarter valued at $9,878,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Vistra by 9.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $2,179,000. Finally, Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,353,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.