Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 2.7% – Should You Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $147.35 and last traded at $145.37. 1,533,297 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,786,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.10.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.47 and a 200-day moving average of $105.85. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after buying an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 33.5% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.