Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $239.20.

VST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $1,424,763.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,842,690.90. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 166,680 shares of company stock worth $28,761,790 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $499,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $292,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,241,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,830,000 after purchasing an additional 35,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Vistra by 1,973.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 362,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,477,000 after purchasing an additional 344,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $158.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.08, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.66.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

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.