Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. stock price fell by 1.1% to $195.81, with trading volume decreasing by 14% compared to its average session volume.
• Equities analysts have raised price targets for Vistra, with Goldman Sachs pushing their target from $179 to $203, and BMO Capital Markets increasing theirs from $191 to $229, maintaining a generally positive outlook with several "strong-buy" ratings.
• Vistra announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, reflecting a 14.35% payout ratio.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $190.70 and last traded at $195.81. 5,816,995 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 6,737,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.20.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $200.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 276,319 shares of company stock worth $57,544,816 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock worth $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.5% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock worth $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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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