Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $233.9333.

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Vistra Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:VST opened at $141.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $156.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43. Vistra has a 52 week low of $138.53 and a 52 week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.9% in the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.