Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Up to $92.74

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $92.74, but opened at $99.73. Vistra shares last traded at $100.64, with a volume of 2,905,182 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.43.

Vistra Trading Up 8.0 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 5.0% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 190 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.