Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s stock price traded down 4.2% on Friday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $182.10 and last traded at $181.70. 684,634 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,864,255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.73.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.43.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 132.0% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake 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 during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, City State Bank lifted its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.43 and its 200 day moving average is $159.84. The stock has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.