Vistra (NYSE:VST) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) hit a new 52-week high 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. The stock had previously closed at $185.35.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VST. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Ten 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 target price of $168.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was 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 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Vistra by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,747 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 0.5 %

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 stock has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.07.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 16.60%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign 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.