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

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $230.3125.

VST has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This trade represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VST opened at $163.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.37.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly 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. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.