Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 0.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price was up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $151.00 to $191.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $194.67 and last traded at $186.43. Approximately 4,780,495 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 7,334,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.35.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Vistra by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,296,000 after buying an additional 7,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $64.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.