Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price dropped 3.7% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $203.00 to $186.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $112.00 and last traded at $114.65. Approximately 3,086,991 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 7,706,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.05.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Daiwa America raised Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vistra news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. This trade represents a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John William Pitesa acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $126.75 per share, for a total transaction of $190,125.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $439,442.25. This trade represents a 76.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vistra by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,326,000 after purchasing an additional 219,055 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vistra by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Vistra by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Vistra by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,261,000 after acquiring an additional 296,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.83.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.62%.

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.