Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 4.7% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VSTGet Free Report) shares fell 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $148.52 and last traded at $152.6710. 6,997,102 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 5,027,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.23.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.62.

Read Our Latest Research Report on VST

Vistra Trading Down 4.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.02 and a 200-day moving average of $158.51. The firm has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VSTGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $746,729,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 95.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 177,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,638,000 after acquiring an additional 86,393 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% in the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,875,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Vistra by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,343,000 after acquiring an additional 192,274 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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