Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares were down 2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $135.86 and last traded at $138.1540. 5,224,395 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 5,158,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.95.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra completed its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy after receiving regulatory approval. The deal adds 10 modern natural-gas facilities with approximately 5,500 megawatts of capacity, expanding Vistra’s generation portfolio to nearly 50,000 MW and strengthening its position in key U.S. power markets. Vistra Completes Acquisition of Cogentrix Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its expectations for Vistra, but separate coverage continues to point to significant potential upside, with the average analyst price target reported at $202.43. This suggests Wall Street remains broadly constructive despite near-term concerns. Vistra Average Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.231 per share, a 0.4% increase from the prior payment. The dividend implies an annualized payout of approximately $0.92 per share, but the reported yield is only about 0.7%, limiting its likely influence on the stock. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Shares came under pressure after an analyst downgrade, with Wells Fargo reducing its expectations. Analyst opinions remain mixed, adding uncertainty after the stock’s decline over the past year. Vistra Shares Down Following Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, but Zacks says the company lacks the combination of earnings and estimate-revision indicators that typically support a likely earnings beat. Investors may therefore be cautious ahead of the report, particularly given the company’s previous earnings and revenue miss. Vistra Earnings Expectations

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Vistra from $227.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $201.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.88.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.2310 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 2.6% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in Vistra by 2.3% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.2% in the second quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.0% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.