Vistra (NYSE:VST) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Vistra (NYSE:VST) from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, signaling a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several firms have recently issued varying ratings for Vistra, with Melius giving it a "strong-buy" rating and a target price of $295.
• Vistra reported earnings per share of $1.01 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $1.63, alongside revenues of $4.25 billion compared to anticipated $5.15 billion.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Melius began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.43.

Vistra Trading Down 0.2%

VST stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $187.66. The company had a trading volume of 4,147,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,403,082. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.08. Vistra has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $216.85. The stock has a market cap of $63.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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, analysts predict that Vistra will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vistra by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,068 shares of the company's stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Vistra by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 126,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,427,000 after purchasing an additional 28,592 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 487.9% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 734,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,265,000 after purchasing an additional 6,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

About Vistra

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.