Vistra (NYSE:VST) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $97.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.08. Vistra has a one year low of $64.26 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.2235 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John William Pitesa bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at $439,442.25. This trade represents a 76.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Vistra by 616.0% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.