Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 6.8% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price dropped 6.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $139.27 and last traded at $142.59. Approximately 12,543,662 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 95% from the average daily volume of 6,441,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Vistra from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.20.

Vistra Stock Down 6.8%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The company has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. This trade represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,680 shares of company stock valued at $28,761,790. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after buying an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 worth $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $930,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.