Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 1.4% on Thursday, trading as low as $148.50 after closing at $153.16, with volume running below average.
• Despite the dip, analysts remain broadly bullish: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of about $230.31, even though several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• Vistra posted a strong latest quarter, with earnings of $2.87 per share versus $1.32 expected and revenue of $5.64 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.229.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $148.50 and last traded at $150.9760. Approximately 4,209,361 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 5,089,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $230.31.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $154.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were given a $0.229 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Vistra by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company's stock worth $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vistra by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company's stock worth $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company's stock worth $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

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