Vistra (NYSE:VST) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $132.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $111.80 and last traded at $111.80, with a volume of 152512 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.88.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Third Point LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,192,000 after buying an additional 995,748 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 470.0% during the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Vistra by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,519,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,570,000 after acquiring an additional 363,897 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Vistra by 9,668.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $39.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.85. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.37%.

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.