Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $226.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 43.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VST. Siebert Williams Shank began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce started coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $176.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.32.

Vistra Stock Up 4.6%

NYSE VST traded up $6.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.17. 2,121,540 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,106,664. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $52.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51 and a beta of 1.38. Vistra has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $203.66.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at $49,469,648.10. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $468,354,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $381,938,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $262,169,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,267,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.