Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 6.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price shot up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $151.00 to $191.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $197.56 and last traded at $198.83. 3,407,841 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 7,314,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.86.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Vistra by 2.2% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 6.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $67.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.