Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 3.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $160.00 and last traded at $155.24. Approximately 6,235,605 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 9,680,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.64.

Vistra Trading Down 4.7 %

The company has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.82.

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

Vistra announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. This trade represents a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,100 shares of company stock valued at $55,087,314 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 616.0% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.