Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $63.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.20.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $65.66 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.21. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.05. Vistra has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.02%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total transaction of $5,114,019.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.