Vistra’s (VST) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Sanford C. Bernstein

Vistra (NYSE:VST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.34% from the company’s previous close.

VST has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 target price on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.33.

Vistra Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of VST traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $139.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,394,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,923,136. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.40. Vistra has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $217.10. The company has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James Burke bought 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. This represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $574,499,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $468,354,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $381,938,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $262,169,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.