Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $232.40 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $232.40.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VST. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $228.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 468,201 shares of company stock valued at $89,855,749 over the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 280.6% in the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after buying an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,390,000 after buying an additional 913,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $163.04 on Friday. Vistra has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The company has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.40 and its 200-day moving average is $189.24.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were paid a $0.227 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

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.