Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Rating) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.57.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday.

In other news, insider Brookfield Asset Management In sold 750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.77, for a total value of $19,327,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,538,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,747,530.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.39, for a total transaction of $1,119,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,433,255 shares of company stock valued at $113,850,282. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 6.7% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 50,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 107.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 239,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after purchasing an additional 124,089 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 499.7% in the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 196,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,568,000 after purchasing an additional 163,703 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 217.0% in the first quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 66,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 45,545 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 296.1% in the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 23,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,544 shares during the period.

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $25.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.57. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01 and a beta of 0.82. Vistra has a 52 week low of $15.91 and a 52 week high of $27.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 25th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by ($1.69). The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 13.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.177 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 21st. This represents a $0.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.95%.

About Vistra (Get Rating)

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 20 states in the United States and the District of Columbia.

Further Reading

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Vistra (VST)
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