Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $167.42 and last traded at $168.73. 4,457,109 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 10,314,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Up 0.3 %

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 firm has a market cap of $57.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $215,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Vistra by 5.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,313,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 34.6% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 68,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 17,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $108,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.