TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Cowen lowered its Vistra price target slightly from $222 to $221 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying approximately 56.7% upside from the reported $141.02 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Vistra has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $228.50, despite several firms recently adjusting their targets or ratings.
• Vistra’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, with EPS of $0.76 versus the $1.61 consensus and revenue of $4.02 billion versus $5.46 billion expected. Shares remain well below their 12-month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by TD Cowen from $222.00 to $221.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen's price objective suggests a potential upside of 56.72% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VST. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $228.50.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.02. The stock had a trading volume of 970,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,924,055. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Vistra has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.25.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vistra will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. 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 Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after buying an additional 432,028 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after buying an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,729,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

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.

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