Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares dropped 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $148.50 and last traded at $150.9760. Approximately 4,209,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 5,089,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.31.

Vistra Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.11.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vistra by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. 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.