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

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $230.6250.

VST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

Vistra Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $162.22 on Wednesday. Vistra has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $154.57 and its 200-day moving average is $158.37. The company has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.41%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $322,660,000. Amundi increased its stake in Vistra by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,524,000 after purchasing an additional 817,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 585.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,425,000 after buying an additional 775,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.