Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price was down 2.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $158.32 and last traded at $159.5090. Approximately 2,907,920 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 3,656,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.87.

Vistra Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.00 billion, a PE ratio of 73.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.228 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 7.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,391,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Vistra in the first quarter worth $26,094,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Vistra by 1,111.3% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 4,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Vistra by 2,147.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 57,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,597,000 after purchasing an additional 54,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.