Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $132.66 and last traded at $134.8380. 5,849,588 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,192,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.33.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.43. 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 simple moving average is $154.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.12.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS 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 dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 37.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.