Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Falls 2% – Here’s Why

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $135.86 and last traded at $138.1540. Approximately 5,224,395 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 5,158,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.95.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra completed its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy after receiving regulatory approval. The deal adds 10 modern natural-gas facilities with approximately 5,500 megawatts of capacity, expanding Vistra’s generation portfolio to nearly 50,000 MW and strengthening its position in key U.S. power markets. Vistra Completes Acquisition of Cogentrix Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its expectations for Vistra, but separate coverage continues to point to significant potential upside, with the average analyst price target reported at $202.43. This suggests Wall Street remains broadly constructive despite near-term concerns. Vistra Average Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.231 per share, a 0.4% increase from the prior payment. The dividend implies an annualized payout of approximately $0.92 per share, but the reported yield is only about 0.7%, limiting its likely influence on the stock. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Shares came under pressure after an analyst downgrade, with Wells Fargo reducing its expectations. Analyst opinions remain mixed, adding uncertainty after the stock’s decline over the past year. Vistra Shares Down Following Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, but Zacks says the company lacks the combination of earnings and estimate-revision indicators that typically support a likely earnings beat. Investors may therefore be cautious ahead of the report, particularly given the company’s previous earnings and revenue miss. Vistra Earnings Expectations

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Vistra from $231.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Williams Trading set a $202.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on shares of Vistra from $201.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Vistra Stock Down 2.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $145.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2310 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at $49,469,648.10. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Legacy CG LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,228,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. lifted its stake in Vistra by 3.7% in the third quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 8,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 64.2% in the third quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 9,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter valued at $16,397,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.