Vistra (VST) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Vistra (NYSE:VST) is projected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, February 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter. Parties that are interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Vistra Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $142.66 on Tuesday. Vistra has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $199.84. The company has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.14 and a 200 day moving average of $133.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68.

Vistra declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 16.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.64.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% 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.