Vistra (NYSE:VST) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Vistra (NYSE:VST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.62.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $162.22 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 in the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Northside Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 4.9% in the second quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,174,000 after acquiring an additional 6,582 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $414,000. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 10.5% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Haven Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $2,812,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in Vistra by 73.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.