Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 2.8% – What’s Next?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price traded down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $158.41 and last traded at $160.0220. 4,878,654 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 5,272,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.33.

Vistra Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $154.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.48. The company has a market cap of $53.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a $0.229 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Vistra by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Vistra by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Vistra by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.