Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 5.1% – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was down 5.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $140.37 and last traded at $140.7560. Approximately 5,144,594 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 4,885,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Down 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.94.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,044,108. This represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 331,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,273,219.34. The trade was a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,944 shares of company stock worth $11,852,488. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Junto Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Vistra by 126.5% in the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 535,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,019,000 after buying an additional 299,309 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 7.8% during the second quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra by 39.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Vistra by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 467,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,091,000 after buying an additional 44,351 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra’s generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings’ competitive energy businesses.