Scotiabank Has Pessimistic Outlook of Vistra FY2026 Earnings

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Vistra in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank analyst A. Weisel now expects that the company will earn $9.08 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $9.10. Scotiabank has a “Outperform” rating and a $293.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vistra’s current full-year earnings is $7.00 per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $236.73.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $167.40 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $56.72 billion, a PE ratio of 60.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total value of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at $930,080,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,660,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Vistra by 15.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

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.