Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Falls 9.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded down 9.9% on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $227.00 to $226.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $139.10 and last traded at $140.6350. Approximately 12,424,091 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 141% from the average daily volume of 5,157,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.14.

VST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Williams Trading set a $202.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Burke bought 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total value of $6,747,488.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $190 price target, while Siebert Williams Shank maintained its Buy recommendation. These endorsements suggest analysts see substantial upside from Vistra’s current valuation. Siebert Williams Shank maintains Buy rating on Vistra
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley retained an Overweight rating despite trimming its target slightly to $226. The firm’s view reflects confidence in Vistra’s contracted power demand, nuclear assets and long-term earnings potential.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to cite Vistra’s nuclear financing momentum, including a potential $4.2 billion Department of Energy loan commitment, long-term nuclear power purchase agreements with Meta, and the redemption of its Series A preferred stock. These developments could support growth while simplifying the capital structure. Vistra gains as investors weigh nuclear financing and capital structure improvements
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and technical coverage remain generally favorable, with shares recently trading above the 50-day moving average and earnings estimates described as improving. However, these signals do not eliminate regulatory and execution risks. VST trades above its 50-day moving average
• Negative Sentiment: Texas regulators have paused or are auditing data-center connection projects on the ERCOT grid. The review creates uncertainty over the timing of AI-related electricity demand, potentially delaying a key growth catalyst for Vistra and peer NRG Energy. Texas paused data-center hookups
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity has been weighted toward selling, with 14 sales versus three purchases over six months. That may add sentiment pressure, although insider transactions are not necessarily a direct signal of operating performance.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,672,987,000 after purchasing an additional 79,972 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,616,000 after purchasing an additional 32,982 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $381,938,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 9.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.32.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.54%.

Vistra Company Profile

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.