Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $149.10 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.10.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Vistra Trading Down 3.1 %

Vistra stock opened at $139.68 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.32. The firm has a market cap of $47.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra has a 1 year low of $37.77 and a 1 year high of $168.67.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth $9,878,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Vistra by 9.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $2,179,000. Finally, Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,353,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.