Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 4.9% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price was up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.33 and last traded at $161.69. Approximately 1,670,876 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,875,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $149.10.

Vistra Trading Up 4.1 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.54 and its 200 day moving average is $100.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.09.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank raised its position in Vistra by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 11,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 4.2% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.