Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price fell 1.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $137.81 and last traded at $139.9170. 6,580,151 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 5,172,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VST. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.93.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.