Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was down 1.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $136.61 and last traded at $137.16. 3,036,321 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 4,903,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Mizuho began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.61.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. Analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 36,588 shares of company stock worth $5,914,427 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Vistra by 15,825.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,896,343,000 after acquiring an additional 61,994,589 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vistra by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after buying an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth $746,729,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.