Analysts Set Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Target Price at $171.64

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $171.64.

VST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $167.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra has a 1 year low of $44.25 and a 1 year high of $199.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.55.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $729,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 452.8% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 496,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,463,000 after purchasing an additional 406,754 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Palidye Holdings Caymans Ltd acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $149,451,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.