BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price target cut by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $231.00 to $210.00 in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.96% from the company’s previous close.

VST has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.61.

Vistra Stock Up 10.7%

NYSE:VST opened at $160.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.03 and a 200-day moving average of $151.04. Vistra has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $217.10. 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 results 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). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. Analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at $50,273,219.34. This represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,672,987,000 after buying an additional 79,972 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Vistra by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,616,000 after acquiring an additional 32,982 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $468,354,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Energy confirmed a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion to help Vistra increase output and extend the operating lives of its Perry and Davis-Besse plants in Ohio and Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania. The projects could add approximately 433 megawatts of capacity while reducing Vistra’s upfront capital burden. DoE confirms up to $4.2B loan to Vistra
• Positive Sentiment: Investors view the federal financing as particularly valuable because much of the incremental nuclear output is supported by long-term agreements, including a 20-year power purchase agreement with Meta and a 20-year, 207-megawatt deal with New Era Energy & Digital for a Texas data center. These contracts improve revenue visibility and connect Vistra to AI-related electricity demand. Vistra Stock Gains as Federal Funds Fuel Nuclear Power Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Google nuclear-power agreement with Constellation Energy prompted a broader rally across nuclear-power stocks. The deal reinforced investor expectations that hyperscalers will pay for dependable, around-the-clock nuclear generation to support data centers, lifting sentiment toward Vistra as a comparable nuclear operator. Constellation Energy soars on Google nuclear deal
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity, including more than 52,000 contracts purchased, indicated increased speculative and institutional interest in further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra extended its revolving-credit facility maturity to September 2027, supporting near-term liquidity, although the company remains highly leveraged.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain from Vistra’s recent earnings miss, substantial debt burden and a BMO Capital Markets price-target reduction to $210 from $231, despite retaining an outperform rating. The company is also challenging a PJM market proposal that it says could weaken investment incentives. Vistra challenges PJM proposal

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.