Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 5% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price traded down 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $160.56 and last traded at $160.87. 2,929,724 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 7,360,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $178.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.08.

Vistra Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $55.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This trade represents a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,000 shares of company stock valued at $43,169,740 over the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $409,087,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $286,414,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth about $209,149,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,441,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.