Vistra (NYSE:VST) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.64.

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Vistra Trading Down 28.3 %

NYSE:VST traded down $54.15 on Monday, reaching $136.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,168,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,217,726. Vistra has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $199.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.47. The firm has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 16.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. The trade was a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.