Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 2.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $207.00 to $189.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $142.20 and last traded at $142.6070. Approximately 5,579,742 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 5,149,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.66.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VST. Siebert Williams Shank began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $3,558,631.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,469,648.10. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,610,496,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 16.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,979,000 after acquiring an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 95.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,638,000 after acquiring an additional 86,393 shares during the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter worth approximately $10,543,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 353.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.08 and a 200 day moving average of $154.05. 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 capitalization of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.