Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 8% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price fell 8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $143.03 and last traded at $143.4450. 11,458,143 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 130% from the average session volume of 4,986,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.88.

Vistra Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.41%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other 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.