Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) fell 1.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $158.76 and last traded at $162.4110. 4,787,447 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 6,415,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VST. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.20.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.08, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.69.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This trade represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,680 shares of company stock worth $28,761,790. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Vistra by 2,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 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.