Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $223.5294.

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.9% during the first quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Vistra by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Vistra by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $140.76 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.73.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.