Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 2.6% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $152.98 and last traded at $161.64. 6,568,347 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 6,071,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VST. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.40.

Vistra Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.87.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 2,700.0% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.