Vistra's (VST) "Buy (B)" Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Vistra's stock rating has been reaffirmed as a “Buy (B)” by Weiss Ratings, with increasing support from other research firms including a “Strong Buy” rating from Melius Research.
• The company's shares rose by 3.0% on the trading day, reaching a price of $205.52, while analysts forecast a consensus target price of $227.85.
• Insider transactions reveal CEO James A. Burke sold over 21,000 shares, indicating insider selling activity, as insiders have sold a total of $78 million in shares over the last 90 days.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

VST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Melius Research raised Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Melius initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.85.

Vistra Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of VST stock traded up $5.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.52. 2,352,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,663,036. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $200.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.29. Vistra has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.82, for a total transaction of $4,377,208.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 259,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,063,331.86. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 379,645 shares of company stock worth $78,263,666 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter valued at about $11,043,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 91,534 shares of the company's stock worth $17,933,000 after purchasing an additional 11,412 shares during the last quarter. 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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