Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 1.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares fell 1.9% on Tuesday, trading at a low of $201.40, with a significant decline in trading volume compared to average levels.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Vistra, with JPMorgan increasing its target to $248.00 and Melius Research upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226, an increase from the previous $0.23, equating to an annual yield of 0.4%.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $201.40 and last traded at $205.55. 3,000,348 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 6,611,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Melius Research raised Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Scotiabank started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.58.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $69.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $200.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a $0.226 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 463,350 shares of company stock valued at $95,374,138 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in Vistra by 40.5% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,931 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,149,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vistra by 280.6% in the second quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after acquiring an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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