Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 1.8% – Time to Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares fell 1.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $150.12 and last traded at $151.2250. 2,927,882 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 5,520,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The stock has a market cap of $51.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.69, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.66 and its 200-day moving average is $174.24.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%.The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in Vistra by 2,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.