Brokerages Set Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Target Price at $151.50

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.20.

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised 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 worth $587,932,000 after buying an additional 425,126 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Vistra by 51.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,826,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,609,000 after buying an additional 1,293,974 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after buying an additional 1,000,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.5 %

Vistra stock opened at $191.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra has a twelve month low of $39.69 and a twelve month high of $199.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.07.

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

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

About Vistra

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.