Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.6% Higher - What's Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) was up 2.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $130.90 and last traded at $130.62. Approximately 1,951,795 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,984,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $141.30.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.44 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.93.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were given a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. 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. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,747 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at $842,000. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at $1,185,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Vistra during the first quarter valued at $1,675,000. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vistra by 38,929.0% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,879,000 after buying an additional 116,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.