Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 2.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $133.86 and last traded at $136.6830. Approximately 6,296,234 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 5,184,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VST. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.93.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.55. The company has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $322,660,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Vistra by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,524,000 after acquiring an additional 817,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.