Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 6.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded up 6.4% during trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $151.00 to $191.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as high as $197.56 and last traded at $198.83. 3,407,841 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 7,314,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.86.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Vistra by 9.6% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,361,000 after buying an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Vistra by 12.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,747 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 57.63% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.