Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 3.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 3.5% on Wednesday, trading as low as $151.05 before last changing hands near $153.08, below the prior close of $158.63.
• Despite the pullback, Wall Street remains bullish: analysts have a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $230.31, well above the current share price.
• Vistra recently beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.87 versus $1.32 expected, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.229 per share, implying an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $151.05 and last traded at $153.0840. Approximately 5,045,884 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 5,096,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.31.

Vistra Stock Down 3.5%

The business's 50 day moving average is $154.68 and its 200-day moving average is $159.26. 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 $51.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.229 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at $1,561,600. This trade represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% 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 have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $746,729,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at $322,660,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Vistra by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,524,000 after acquiring an additional 817,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 585.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company's stock worth $146,425,000 after purchasing an additional 775,104 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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