Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 5% – Time to Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $160.56 and last traded at $160.87. 2,929,724 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 7,360,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VST. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective (up previously from $172.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.08.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $55.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $137.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.88.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra’s payout ratio is 14.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.80, for a total transaction of $3,136,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 325,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,990,105.60. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John William Pitesa purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.75 per share, with a total value of $190,125.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $439,442.25. This trade represents a 76.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,000 shares of company stock worth $43,169,740 in the last ninety days. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Vistra by 355.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 5,002 shares during the period. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Vistra by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 195,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $1,177,000. 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.