Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 6.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were up 6.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $175.00 and last traded at $172.08. Approximately 3,083,196 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 6,685,034 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.50.

Vistra Stock Up 4.1 %

The company has a market cap of $57.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.84.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 11,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 105 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.