Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Vistra (NYSE:VST)

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $89.43.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $89.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.68 and a beta of 1.08. Vistra has a 52-week low of $31.16 and a 52-week high of $107.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.90 and a 200 day moving average of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.69). Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 53.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,829,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $297,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.