TD Cowen Cuts Vistra (NYSE:VST) Price Target to $222.00

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price objective cut by TD Cowen from $230.00 to $222.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

VST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.88.

Vistra Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $142.79 on Monday. Vistra has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $48.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.25.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Vistra will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $322,660,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Vistra by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,524,000 after purchasing an additional 817,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 585.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,425,000 after purchasing an additional 775,104 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: Vistra’s board approved a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.23 per share, representing an estimated aggregate payment of approximately $75 million. The dividend provides ongoing shareholder income and signals continued confidence in cash generation. Vistra Declares Dividend on Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive analyst views: Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $208 to $212 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Goldman Sachs also issued a “buy” rating, supporting the case for substantial long-term upside. Morgan Stanley price-target update Vistra Corp Receives a Buy from Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable fundamentals and earnings expectations: Recent coverage highlighted Vistra’s stronger return on equity, margins, earnings momentum and market-share gains compared with NRG Energy. Zacks also included VST among utilities expected to outperform second-quarter earnings estimates. VST or NRG: Which Utility Stock Has Greater Upside Potential?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity increased: Traders purchased 39,705 call options, roughly 30% above typical volume. This indicates heightened bullish speculation but does not guarantee sustained buying in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reduced its price target: The firm cut its target from $230 to $222 while retaining a buy rating. Although the revised target remains well above recent trading levels, the downgrade in valuation expectations pressured the stock and was associated with a recent decline of roughly 3.8%. Vistra Trading Down Following Analyst Downgrade

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.