Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 2.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) rose 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.36 and last traded at $172.86. Approximately 2,941,706 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 10,057,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.26.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $4.01. Vistra had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 57.63%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra 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 directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total transaction of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,849,637.12. This represents a 31.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC raised its position in Vistra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Vistra by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.2% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.