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

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $239.20.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,842,690.90. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 166,680 shares of company stock valued at $28,761,790 over the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE:VST opened at $164.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.25. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.63 billion, a PE ratio of 59.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The company had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

About Vistra

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.