Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 6.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares dropped 6.1%, closing at $197.17 amid lower trading volume, significantly below average.
• Despite recent challenges, several analysts maintain bullish ratings, with JPMorgan setting a price target of $248.00 and Scotiabank initiating coverage at $256.00.
• Vistra recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share while facing criticism for missing earnings expectations in its last report.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) traded down 6.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $196.84 and last traded at $197.17. 4,315,876 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 6,643,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $227.85.

Vistra Trading Down 6.1%

The company has a market cap of $66.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.05. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 422,389 shares of company stock valued at $86,992,610 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Banque Transatlantique SA boosted its holdings in Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 275.4% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 210.0% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 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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