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Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 4.1% - Should You Sell?

Vistra logo with Utilities background

Key Points

  • Vistra Corp.'s shares fell by 4.1%, trading between $185.57 and $186.29, with a total of 5,769,044 shares exchanged, which is a 12% decline from its average trading volume.
  • Several brokerages have raised their price targets for Vistra, with JPMorgan Chase increasing it from $227.00 to $248.00, and a consensus rating of "Buy" exists among analysts, with an average target price of $229.31.
  • The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226, showing a strong payout ratio of 14.35%, while insider trading reports reveal significant share sales by CEO James A. Burke.
  • Interested in Vistra? Here are five stocks we like better.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $185.57 and last traded at $186.29. 5,769,044 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 6,557,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $229.31.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vistra

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total value of $4,595,809.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 282,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,817,700.37. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 590,228 shares of company stock worth $121,653,740 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock worth $3,228,880,000 after acquiring an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 4.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,884,000 after purchasing an additional 258,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth approximately $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Vistra by 25.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

About Vistra

(Get Free Report)

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.

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