Vistra (NYSE:VST) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $151.00 to $191.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $194.67 and last traded at $186.79, with a volume of 8986314 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $185.35.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.20.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 0.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.19 and its 200-day moving average is $120.07. 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 company has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

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