Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $140.17 and last traded at $140.9520. Approximately 6,054,459 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 4,988,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vistra from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.88.

Vistra Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.