Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus "Buy": Sixteen analysts (12 Buy, 3 Strong Buy, 1 Hold) rate Vistra a consensus Buy with an average 12‑month price target of $236.87, implying roughly a 53% upside from the current $154.68 share price.
• Quarterly miss: Vistra reported $2.18 EPS versus $2.45 expected and revenue of $4.58B versus $5.75B expected, marking a notable shortfall to analyst estimates.
• Dividend and ownership notes: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228 (annualized $0.91, ~0.6% yield); insiders recently sold shares and institutional investors own about 90.9% of the stock.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $236.8667.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $154.68 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.80. The stock has a market cap of $52.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.28, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.49. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $103.34 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing 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 valued at $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 37.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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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