Brokerages Set Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Price Target at $151.50

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $151.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 9.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 42,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,656,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 57.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,928 shares of the company's stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 1.5% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 31,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 51.9% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 862,300 shares of the company's stock worth $73,939,000 after purchasing an additional 294,494 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of VST stock traded down $2.90 on Friday, hitting $171.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,254,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,420,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Vistra has a fifty-two week low of $39.08 and a fifty-two week high of $178.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $151.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.221 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 16.60%.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.