Vistra (NYSE:VST) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Equities researchers at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 37.88% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $149.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vistra has a one year low of $40.54 and a one year high of $199.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This represents a 39.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 343,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Vistra by 232.6% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 40,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after buying an additional 28,300 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 18,740 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 58,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 19,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seaport Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $816,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.