Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price shot up 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $144.66 and last traded at $137.51. 3,418,488 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 6,930,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.40.

Vistra Stock Up 4.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.11 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.28.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 64.71%.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 90.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after buying an additional 10,124 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $787,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $767,000. Institutional investors 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.