Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 3.9% to around $140.39 during mid-day trading, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The decline followed a significant quarterly earnings miss: Vistra reported $0.76 in EPS versus $1.61 expected and revenue of $4.02 billion versus the $5.46 billion consensus estimate.
• Despite the pressure, analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $228.56, while Vistra continued its quarterly dividend at $0.23 per share.

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) fell 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $138.77 and last traded at $140.3890. Approximately 4,285,373 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 4,945,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $228.56.

Vistra Trading Down 3.9%

The stock has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock's fifty day moving average is $154.14 and its 200 day moving average is $156.42.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $746,729,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $574,499,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $381,938,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

About Vistra

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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