Vistra (NYSE:VST) Price Target Lowered to $233.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $249.00 to $233.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VST. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.40.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock traded up $3.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $171.38. 1,208,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,209,375. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $184.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.88, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.39. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. Research analysts predict that Vistra will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% 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, CEO James A. Burke sold 41,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.32, for a total transaction of $8,339,882.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 246,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,629,809.04. The trade was a 14.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 763,830 shares of company stock worth $150,539,816 over the last three months. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its position in Vistra by 132.0% during the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $25,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.