Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Up 6.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shot up 6.4% during 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 changed hands 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 equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Vistra by 2.2% during 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 increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

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 market cap of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $155.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.39.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The business 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.60%.

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