Vistra (NYSE:VST) Research Coverage Started at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $155.35 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.91 and a 200 day moving average of $121.44. Vistra has a 1 year low of $40.57 and a 1 year high of $199.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vistra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in Vistra by 33.5% during the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 2,610,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after buying an additional 654,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Vistra by 60.1% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,898,000 after buying an additional 797,894 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.