Vistra (NYSE:VST) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

Key Points

• Vistra has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by TD Cowen, highlighting a positive outlook among some investment analysts.
• Despite the upgrade, recent evaluations have shown mixed sentiments, with some analysts downgrading it from "hold" to "sell" while others have raised their target prices for the stock.
• Vistra reported a quarterly earnings miss with $1.01 earnings per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.63, amidst a revenue of $4.25 billion.

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Daiwa America raised Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Melius Research raised Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $229.31.

Vistra Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:VST opened at $210.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.96. The stock has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.58, for a total transaction of $4,393,244.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 277,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,010,417.70. This represents a 7.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 547,510 shares of company stock worth $112,585,800. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Clarius Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 96.0% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $341,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,849 shares of the company's stock worth $4,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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