Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $180.18, but opened at $167.55. Vistra shares last traded at $167.5540, with a volume of 5,623,280 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VST. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.40.

Vistra Stock Down 7.4%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.20 and its 200-day moving average is $187.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $56.56 billion, a PE ratio of 60.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,842,690.90. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total value of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,995 shares of company stock valued at $50,757,547 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vistra by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,880,000 after acquiring an additional 226,514 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 15.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 40.5% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth about $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.