Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Wells Fargo & Company

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $212.00 to $198.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Vistra from $227.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Vistra Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE VST opened at $138.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.71. Vistra has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $196.80.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.2310 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Apella Capital LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 5.3% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.2% during the second quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.0% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Vistra News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra completed its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy, adding 10 modern natural-gas facilities with approximately 5,500 megawatts of capacity. The deal expands Vistra’s generation fleet to nearly 50,000 MW and could strengthen its ability to serve power demand in key U.S. markets. Vistra Completes Acquisition of Cogentrix Energy
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.231 per share, a slight increase from the prior payment. The dividend implies an annualized payout of approximately $0.92 per share, providing modest shareholder income. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Wells Fargo reportedly reduced its price expectations, while another report cited an average price target of $202.43 and potential upside from current levels. The conflicting outlook may be contributing to volatility. Wells Fargo Lowers Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: A valuation comparison with Southern Company characterized Vistra as the cheaper utility, but Southern was viewed as stronger on dividends, debt management, profitability and recent stock performance. VST or SO Utility Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, but Zacks said the company lacks the combination of earnings-estimate revisions and surprise factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. This raises caution ahead of the report, especially after the company’s previous quarter missed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue. Vistra Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: A recent analyst downgrade has also weighed on sentiment, reinforcing concerns about valuation, execution and near-term earnings momentum. Vistra Shares Following Analyst Downgrade

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.