Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 0.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded up 0.7% during trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $174.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $165.74 and last traded at $163.50. 3,156,137 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 5,907,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.36.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.50.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.37 and its 200 day moving average is $112.72.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.