Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $151.50.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Vistra Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $171.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vistra has a 1 year low of $39.08 and a 1 year high of $178.40. The company has a market cap of $58.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.79.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after buying an additional 1,037,402 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 6.6% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Vistra by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 654,568 shares during the last quarter. 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.