Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Vistra (NYSE:VST) to Strong-Buy

Vistra (NYSE:VST) was upgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on VST. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $158.57 on Tuesday. Vistra has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.72. The company has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,088 shares of company stock worth $1,634,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,343,000 after acquiring an additional 192,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,479,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.