Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.17.
Several research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Vistra from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down previously from $24.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, March 23rd. Bank of America cut Vistra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Vistra from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 22nd.
Shares of NYSE VST traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $16.68. 4,327,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,150,176. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.93. Vistra has a one year low of $15.47 and a one year high of $24.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.87.
Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 5th. The company reported ($4.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($2.33) by ($1.88). Vistra had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 8.57%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.99%.
In related news, Director Brian K. Ferraioli acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.94 per share, for a total transaction of $127,520.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,096.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James A. Burke acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.75 per share, for a total transaction of $335,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 242,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,287.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 75,000 shares of company stock worth $1,214,310 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 28,579,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,824 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Vistra by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 21,372,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,176,000 after acquiring an additional 319,330 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Vistra by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 11,065,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,637,000 after acquiring an additional 906,244 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Vistra by 86.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,869,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,134,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651,498 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,266,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,865,000 after acquiring an additional 467,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.23% of the company’s stock.
Vistra Company Profile
Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity business in the United States. It operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. The company retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 20 states in the United States and the District of Columbia.
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