Weiss Ratings Reaffirms “Buy (B-)” Rating for Vistra (NYSE:VST)

Vistra (NYSE:VST)‘s stock had its “buy (b-)” rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Thursday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on VST. Cowen started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.93.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST opened at $188.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $199.50 and its 200-day moving average is $181.69. 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 company has a market capitalization of $63.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 9,641 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total transaction of $1,853,964.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,491,354.10. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 723,910 shares of company stock worth $148,086,569 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.