Vistra’s (VST) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Posted by Brian Himes on Oct 4th, 2026

Sanford C. Bernstein reissued their outperform rating on shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST – Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $181.00 target price on the stock.

VST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on VST

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST opened at $139.94 on Thursday. Vistra has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $217.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.04 and its 200 day moving average is $151.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $4.02 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,672,987,000 after acquiring an additional 79,972 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $574,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,616,000 after acquiring an additional 32,982 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $468,354,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Vistra News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

Positive Sentiment: The reported loan would provide substantial financial support for Vistra’s nuclear expansion plans and may improve the long-term earnings outlook. The report is not yet confirmed as finalized. Trump administration reportedly prepares $4B federal loan to expand Vistra’s nuclear capacity
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $202 price target, implying significant upside from recent levels. Siebert Williams Shank initiates coverage of Vistra
Positive Sentiment: Bernstein reaffirmed its positive view, maintaining an Outperform rating and an $181 target. Analysts have pointed to a wide gap between Vistra’s depressed share price and their longer-term valuation estimates. Bernstein reaffirms Vistra outperform rating
Positive Sentiment: Investor attention was also supported by news that Peter Thiel’s investment fund added Vistra to its portfolio, with Vistra and Amazon representing 42% of the fund’s reported holdings. Peter Thiel’s fund adds Vistra

About Vistra

(Get Free Report)

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.