Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $223.53 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $223.5294.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th.

Vistra News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra priced $850 million of Series A and $650 million of Series B junior subordinated notes due 2057. Proceeds will support general corporate purposes and could be used to redeem outstanding preferred stock, potentially improving the capital structure. Vistra Prices Registered Offering of $1.5 Billion of Junior Subordinated Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain optimistic about Vistra’s growth prospects. Hedging, long-term power contracts, its diversified generation portfolio and rising electricity demand from data centers, industrial activity and electrification support earnings visibility. The Cogentrix acquisition and long-term nuclear agreements with Meta and Amazon Web Services are additional potential catalysts. Vistra: Cogentrix and Meta Can Offset a Softer ERCOT Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus view remains favorable, with a Moderate Buy rating and price targets generally well above the recent trading range. Commentators cite improving EBITDA expectations and potential upside to management’s outlook. Vistra Receives Consensus Recommendation of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive Vice President Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares worth approximately $6.75 million. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited signal of management’s current outlook. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: The notes increase Vistra’s financing obligations while the company already has substantial leverage, reflected in a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Investors may also be concerned about softer ERCOT conditions and the additional leverage associated with the Cogentrix acquisition. VST Stock Outperforms Industry in the Past Three Months

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 76,188 shares of company stock valued at $11,889,820 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $148.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.