Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 0.7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 0.7% on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $174.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $165.74 and last traded at $163.50. Approximately 3,156,137 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 5,907,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.36.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 11.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 40,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,486,000 after buying an additional 4,180 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 98,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,569,000 after purchasing an additional 16,326 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 95,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 13.4% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 205.9% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 192,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,550,000 after purchasing an additional 129,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $55.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.64.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 management believes its stock is 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.