Stock Repurchase Plan Announced by Vistra (NYSE:VST) Board of Directors

Vistra (NYSE:VST) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Stock Up 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $135.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.28. Vistra has a 12-month low of $34.24 and a 12-month high of $143.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.80 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.40.

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.