Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Receives $149.10 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.10.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $157.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST traded up $5.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.84. The company had a trading volume of 2,473,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,865,075. Vistra has a 12-month low of $34.89 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $132.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.77. The company has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.221 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Vistra's payout ratio is 16.42%.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 254,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,353,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth $263,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the third quarter valued at $351,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Vistra by 41.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 129,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,320,000 after acquiring an additional 38,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at $208,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

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.