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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’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 trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $163.80.

Vistra Trading Up 5.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 81 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.