Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $171.66 and last traded at $171.4250. 5,949,697 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 6,511,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $237.53.

Vistra Trading Up 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.08 billion, a PE ratio of 61.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $162.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.06.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related 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 directly owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $930,080,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.