Brokerages Set Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) PT at $236.40

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.8667.

VST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 24.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Vistra by 37.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 62,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 19,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE VST opened at $151.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. Vistra has a 52 week low of $90.51 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.45 and a 200-day moving average of $176.55.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.228 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.