Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price was down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $157.00 to $150.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $124.70 and last traded at $125.30. Approximately 1,979,024 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,967,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.38.

VST has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $146.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,360 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at $971,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Vistra during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.83 and a 200-day moving average of $89.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.04 billion, a PE ratio of 92.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 21.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.2195 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.71%.

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.