Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $170.86, but opened at $179.30. Vistra shares last traded at $175.94, with a volume of 2,060,156 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $168.20.

Vistra Trading Up 2.6 %

The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of 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 grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 51.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company's stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.