Vistra (NYSE:VST) Upgraded at Daiwa America

Key Points

• Vistra was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Daiwa America, reflecting growing confidence among analysts, with other firms like Melius Research and Jefferies also raising their ratings recently.
• The stock price objectives for Vistra have seen substantial increases, with targets set as high as $250.00 following positive assessments from multiple investment firms.
• Despite the positive analyst ratings, Vistra's recent earnings report showed an EPS miss of $0.62 from analyst expectations, alongside a decline in revenue compared to forecasts.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Daiwa America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VST. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Melius assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $210.71.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST traded up $0.92 on Wednesday, reaching $211.08. The stock had a trading volume of 9,186,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,842,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $198.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.26. Vistra has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $217.90. The company has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,121 shares of company stock valued at $30,849,036. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. City State Bank grew its holdings in Vistra by 210.0% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 19,300.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 65.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.