Vistra (NYSE:VST) Rating Increased to Buy at Daiwa Capital Markets

Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has $250.00 price objective on the stock.

VST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.71.

Vistra Stock Down 0.7%

VST stock opened at $208.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra has a 12 month low of $90.26 and a 12 month high of $217.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.08.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.80, for a total value of $4,481,747.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 222,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,719,732.60. This trade represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,402 shares of company stock worth $21,742,629. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Vistra by 40.5% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $209,149,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.