Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Up 1.8% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price shot up 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $166.21 and last traded at $163.0220. 7,482,121 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 6,530,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $237.53.

Vistra Stock Up 1.8%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total value of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 144,745 shares of company stock valued at $24,670,254 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vistra by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $930,080,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower?carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.