Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 8.2%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares fell 8.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $73.38 and last traded at $73.50. 6,089,761 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 6,681,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Guggenheim upgraded Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.83.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.08.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.39). Vistra had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $0.218 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 53.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Lisa Crutchfield purchased 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $89.46 per share, for a total transaction of $29,969.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 32,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,879,359.56. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 36,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.