Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Picked Up by Analysts at HSBC

Stock analysts at HSBC began coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. HSBC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.64% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VST. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Finally, Williams Trading set a $202.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.20.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $156.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. Vistra has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $203.66. The firm has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 308,915 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke acquired 4,465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at $155,044,108. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 16.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,979,000 after buying an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Vistra by 95.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,638,000 after buying an additional 86,393 shares in the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new position in Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,543,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 353.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear financing supports growth outlook: The U.S. Department of Energy’s conditional commitment of up to $4.2 billion for upgrades to Vistra’s Pennsylvania and Ohio nuclear fleet could help fund capacity increases and modernization while strengthening the company’s long-term earnings potential. Department of Energy nuclear investment announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Contracted demand from data centers: Vistra’s 20-year agreements covering more than 2,600 megawatts of carbon-free nuclear power for Meta provide greater visibility into future revenue and highlight potential demand from artificial-intelligence and data-center customers. Vistra and Meta nuclear agreements
• Positive Sentiment: Capital structure simplified: Vistra redeemed all outstanding Series A preferred stock, potentially eliminating an expensive layer of capital and improving the company’s financial flexibility. Vistra preferred stock redemption
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish: Morgan Stanley reduced its price target modestly from $227 to $226 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Shares are also trading above their 50-day moving average, supported by favorable earnings estimates and long-term growth expectations. Benzinga analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings could affect momentum: Vistra’s next scheduled earnings report is November 6, giving investors a near-term catalyst for evaluating nuclear investments, contracted power demand, and management’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed: Hundreds of institutions added shares in the latest quarter, while others—including Lone Pine Capital—reduced or eliminated positions, suggesting disagreement over valuation and future returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling remains a risk signal: Company insiders made substantially more open-market sales than purchases over the past six months, although CEO James Burke reported buying shares.

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.