Bank of America Upgrades Vistra (NYSE:VST) to Buy

Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $152.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $164.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $166.73.

Vistra Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $126.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.79 and its 200 day moving average is $135.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. Vistra has a 12-month low of $56.92 and a 12-month high of $199.84. The stock has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 159,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after acquiring an additional 13,897 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Vistra by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 74,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Vistra by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 688,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,599,000 after acquiring an additional 269,666 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.