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

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.20.

A number of research firms recently commented on VST. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $191.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. Vistra has a 52 week low of $39.69 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.