Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $138.77 and last traded at $140.3890. Approximately 4,285,373 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 4,945,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $228.56.

Vistra Stock Down 3.9%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $154.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ratan Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,920,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $333,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,620,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,336,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,088,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.