Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 3.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 3.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $129.00 and last traded at $129.16. Approximately 1,336,139 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 7,479,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.83.

Vistra Trading Down 2.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.12 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.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 12.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp increased its position in Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,326,000 after purchasing an additional 219,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,261,000 after buying an additional 296,714 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.