The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $179.00 to $203.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $229.00 target price (up from $191.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $241.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.62.

Vistra Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE VST opened at $202.52 on Wednesday. Vistra has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $216.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.43 and a 200-day moving average of $157.13. The company has a market cap of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after acquiring an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,884,000 after purchasing an additional 258,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $930,080,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vistra by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,102,000 after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Company Profile

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.