Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.50.

Several brokerages have commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Guggenheim upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Vistra Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $124.20 on Thursday. Vistra has a 12 month low of $31.40 and a 12 month high of $143.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.16. The company has a market cap of $42.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.20 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a $0.2195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in Vistra by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 85,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Vistra by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,643,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,300,000 after buying an additional 555,596 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC increased its holdings in Vistra by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,192,000 after buying an additional 995,748 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in Vistra by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.