Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyVistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 2.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $158.32 and last traded at $159.5090. 2,907,920 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 3,656,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.46.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vistra from $239.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.87.
Check Out Our Latest Report on VST
Vistra Price Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.49.
Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.
Vistra Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.
Insider Activity at Vistra
In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,729,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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.