Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 5.2% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $158.30 and last traded at $158.76. Approximately 5,606,100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 6,005,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore increased their price target on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.40.

Vistra Trading Down 5.2%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.78. The company has a market cap of $53.79 billion, a PE ratio of 73.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after buying an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 37.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently 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.