Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $141.00. The stock had previously closed at $125.37, but opened at $128.40. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra shares last traded at $133.37, with a volume of 3,362,027 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Up 4.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $47.54 billion, a PE ratio of 84.89 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 53.99%.

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.