Vistra (NYSE:VST) Price Target Raised to $174.00

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $161.00 to $174.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

VST has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. 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 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.50.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $162.36 on Friday. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $38.08 and a fifty-two week high of $168.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.91 and a 200 day moving average of $111.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last three months. 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 VST. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1,505.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.