Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $152.68 and last traded at $152.9910. Approximately 4,073,231 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 5,384,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.87.

Vistra Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $51.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $1,445,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $8,755,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 78,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,722,000 after purchasing an additional 22,492 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth $1,241,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 371,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,784,000 after purchasing an additional 122,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.