Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 6.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was up 6.4% on Thursday 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 $197.56 and last traded at $198.83. Approximately 3,407,841 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 7,314,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.86.

VST has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank raised its stake in Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 3.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.39. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.