Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.50.

VST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

Vistra Stock Up 1.6 %

VST opened at $68.65 on Thursday. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.05.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 327,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after acquiring an additional 155,533 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $773,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $831,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,716,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 323.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.