Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were up 0.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $172.77 and last traded at $168.40. Approximately 1,677,839 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,974,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VST. Bank of America initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Down 3.8 %

The company has a market cap of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.37.

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock worth $55,087,314. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

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

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.