Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Falls 2.9% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 2.9% to about $134.37, below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $202.43, despite some recent target-price cuts.
• Vistra’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, but the company raised its quarterly dividend slightly to $0.231 per share, implying a 0.7% annual yield.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.9% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $134.21 and last traded at $134.3710. Approximately 4,772,080 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 5,156,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. Williams Trading set a $202.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on Vistra from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $189.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $194.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Vistra Trading Down 2.9%

The company has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of Vistra 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Premier Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.

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