Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 0.6% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share 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 changed 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.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bensler LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $63.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.