Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.22 Per Share

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.2235 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a 1.1% increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Vistra has raised its dividend by an average of 13.3% annually over the last three years. Vistra has a dividend payout ratio of 11.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Vistra to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $126.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $154.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.71. The company has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra has a twelve month low of $60.86 and a twelve month high of $199.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.83.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. The trade was a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.