Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.22 Per Share

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.2235 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Vistra has a dividend payout ratio of 10.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Vistra to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock traded down $12.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.51. 9,944,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,996,157. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $46.18 and a fifty-two week high of $199.84. The firm's fifty day moving average is $160.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VST. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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