Vistra (NYSE:VST) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after KeyCorp downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating. The company traded as low as $124.79 and last traded at $124.83, with a volume of 3,339,573 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $139.59.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Williams Trading set a $202.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $468,354,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $381,938,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $262,169,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $138,267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The company has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 1.37.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.2310 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

About Vistra

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.