Mizuho Upgrades Vistra (NYSE:VST) to Strong-Buy

Vistra (NYSE:VST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Mizuho to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

VST has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Trading Down 0.3%

VST opened at $135.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.38 and a 200 day moving average of $155.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Vistra by 15,825.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,896,343,000 after acquiring an additional 61,994,589 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $961,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 23,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Finally, Markowski Investments purchased a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $131,000. 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.