Vistra (NYSE:VST) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Research analysts at Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a research note issued on Tuesday. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $163.80.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock traded up $7.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,318,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,045. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $152.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.73. Vistra has a one year low of $39.13 and a one year high of $181.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the third quarter worth about $23,028,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Vistra by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 78,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the last quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after buying an additional 7,747 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is 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.