Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $126.09, but opened at $138.11. Vistra shares last traded at $132.70, with a volume of 3,771,194 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.40.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Vistra

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.89 and a 200-day moving average of $93.99. The firm has a market cap of $46.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. The company 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 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 64.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $368,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

(Get Free Report)

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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