Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) were down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $150.12 and last traded at $151.2250. Approximately 2,927,882 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 5,520,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Down 1.8%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.69, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.228 dividend. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $746,729,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,660,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 280.6% in the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by 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.