Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 2% to about $140.75, trading below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $221.88, despite one recent downgrade to “Hold.”
• Vistra reported a quarterly earnings and revenue miss, posting $0.76 in EPS versus the $1.61 consensus and $4.02 billion in revenue versus $5.46 billion expected; the company also declared a $0.23 quarterly dividend.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $140.21 and last traded at $140.7470. 5,024,151 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 4,879,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.88.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $147.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the business's 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 owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $574,499,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $381,938,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra's generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings' competitive energy businesses.

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