Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Seaport Research Partners

Vistra (NYSE:VST) had its price objective lowered by Seaport Research Partners from $226.00 to $202.00 in a research report report published on Monday.

VST has been the topic of several other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Lake Street Capital set a $194.00 price objective on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Vistra from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.00.

Vistra Stock Down 5.4%

VST stock traded down $6.53 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $113.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,615,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,726. 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 has a twelve month low of $110.89 and a twelve month high of $196.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $144.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 1.37.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vistra will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2310 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at $49,469,648.10. The trade was a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,672,987,000 after buying an additional 79,972 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,616,000 after buying an additional 32,982 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $381,938,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish analysis argues that Vistra’s shift toward long-term power agreements and capacity revenues could make earnings more predictable. One article cites 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance growth of 21.8% and sees potential upside from the Cogentrix acquisition and Meta contracts. Vistra: The Market Is Underpricing Its Shift To Contracted Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the policy concerns, an analysis notes that most of Vistra’s 2027 output is hedged and estimates its free-cash-flow yield at over 10%, suggesting a potential valuation cushion if demand concerns ease. Vistra: Texas Turned Blue, And The 2026 Forecast Didn’t Move
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 6. Analysts expect revenue of about $7.44 billion, though results and management’s comments on Texas demand and data-center projects may shape near-term trading. Vistra Set for Q3 Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: The main overhang is uncertainty after the Texas election: investors fear potential restrictions on data-center development could curb future electricity demand. Texas accounts for about 28% of Vistra’s EBITDA, making policy changes a material risk to growth expectations. Vistra Fell 14% on the Texas Election Vote
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc cut its rating on VST from Overweight to Sector Weight amid the Texas policy questions. Scotiabank also lowered its 2026 EPS estimate to $8.83 from $9.14, although it kept a Sector Outperform rating and $189 price target.
• Negative Sentiment: Put-option buying was unusually high, with 67,301 puts traded—69% above the average volume—signaling elevated demand for downside protection or bearish positioning.

About Vistra

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.