Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $89.43 Average PT from Analysts

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.83.

A number of analysts have recently commented on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, September 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $107.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Vistra has a 12-month low of $31.16 and a 12-month high of $108.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.2195 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 53.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 34.6% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 68,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 17,502 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,829,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $297,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $576,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.