Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $149.10 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.10.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $154.16 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vistra has a 1 year low of $35.99 and a 1 year high of $168.67.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Vistra by 17.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 640,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,645,000 after buying an additional 94,842 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,675,000. PGGM Investments grew its position in Vistra by 559.2% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 41,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Vistra by 588.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after buying an additional 78,283 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Vistra by 63.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 9,801 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.