Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares fell 3.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $162.31 and last traded at $163.1480. Approximately 2,550,443 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 4,948,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VST. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.62.

Vistra Stock Down 3.5%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.47. The company has a market cap of $55.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33 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.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 4.9% during the first quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vistra

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.