Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was down 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $166.05 and last traded at $168.8810. Approximately 3,878,138 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 6,825,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $239.40.

Vistra Stock Down 1.5%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $170.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.97, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares in the company, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 321,717 shares of company stock worth $59,790,428. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the second quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 168,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,698,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $499,000. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,830,000 after purchasing an additional 35,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 6,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.