Vistra (NYSE:VST) Upgraded to "Hold" at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VST. Bank of America raised shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.83.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.96. 9,790,691 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,662,566. Vistra has a one year low of $57.50 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $158.02 and a 200 day moving average of $136.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

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Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.2235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.62%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vistra by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares during the period. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,441,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 112.5% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 2,700,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.