Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price fell 3.8% on Monday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $230.00 to $222.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $155.54 and last traded at $157.09. Approximately 4,474,200 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 4,943,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.38.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 3.8%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average of $158.44. The stock has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.41%.

Vistra Company Profile

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.