Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.20.

VST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,069,030.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Vistra by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 458,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,653,000 after acquiring an additional 11,136 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Vistra by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,939,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,597,000 after acquiring an additional 534,299 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Vistra by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,108 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST stock traded down $2.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.86. 7,845,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,054,813. The company has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.61 and its 200 day moving average is $44.89. Vistra has a 1 year low of $22.67 and a 1 year high of $75.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.02%.

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.