Brokerages Set Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) PT at $125.50

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $137.22.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. BNP Paribas began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock opened at $135.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.25. Vistra has a 52-week low of $31.43 and a 52-week high of $143.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.75 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were given a $0.2195 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.71%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares during the period. Third Point LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,192,000 after acquiring an additional 995,748 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 470.0% in the 1st quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,519,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,570,000 after acquiring an additional 363,897 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Vistra by 9,668.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,779,000 after buying an additional 2,910,015 shares during the period. 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.