Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 4.4% – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 4.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $162.27 and last traded at $161.45. 1,890,621 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,869,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $149.10.

Vistra Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.36. The company has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.09. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fulcrum Equity Management lifted its position in Vistra by 2.8% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 13,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,466,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 251.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.