Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $149.10.

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $154.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.40. The company has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. Vistra has a twelve month low of $34.88 and a twelve month high of $168.67. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 16.42%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Vistra by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 640,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,645,000 after buying an additional 94,842 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at $1,675,000. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 559.2% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 41,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after purchasing an additional 35,065 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 588.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after purchasing an additional 78,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 63.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 9,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.