Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 5.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $140.37 and last traded at $140.7560. Approximately 5,144,594 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 4,885,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Up 0.5%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.49. The company has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for 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%. On average, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Junto Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 126.5% in the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 535,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,019,000 after acquiring an additional 299,309 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in Vistra by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Vistra by 10.5% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 467,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,091,000 after purchasing an additional 44,351 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.