Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 3.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price fell 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $138.77 and last traded at $140.3890. Approximately 4,285,373 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 4,945,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.11.

VST has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.00.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 in the last 90 days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day moving average of $154.10 and a 200-day moving average of $156.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced 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). 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 analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

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.