Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 2.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 2.8% to about $155 on Tuesday, trading ~3.72M shares—roughly 28% below its average daily volume.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: MarketBeat shows an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $236.40, with multiple firms issuing Outperform/Overweight/Buy ratings.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228 (annualized $0.91, 0.6% yield) but reported a quarterly miss (EPS $2.18 vs $2.45 expected; revenue $4.58B vs $5.75B) and carries high leverage (debt-to-equity 6.01).

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) dropped 2.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $154.13 and last traded at $155.0730. Approximately 3,718,362 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 5,184,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $236.40.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.50 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $161.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.16.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Vistra by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company's stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased 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 worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% during the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.