Vistra (NYSE:VST) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Vistra reported an EPS of $1.01 for the quarter, missing analyst estimates by $0.62 and generated revenue of $4.25 billion versus the anticipated $5.15 billion.
• The company has announced a slight increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, effective September 30, with a current dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts have maintained positive outlooks, with target price boosts from firms like Jefferies and UBS, reinforcing a general rating of "Moderate Buy".

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 104.02% and a net margin of 12.90%.

Vistra Trading Up 3.8%

VST traded up $7.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.61. 1,982,914 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,254,306. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. Vistra has a 1 year low of $72.90 and a 1 year high of $216.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.96. The firm has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total transaction of $4,291,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. This trade represents a 24.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,461,490 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 37.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 24.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 8,312 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price (up from $191.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.62.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.