Vistra (NYSE:VST) Given New $186.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $178.00 to $186.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.92.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $181.17 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.85. Vistra has a one year low of $66.50 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.22.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total value of $16,953,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This trade represents a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vistra by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 2,433,732 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $286,414,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth about $209,149,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $237,441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.