Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 1.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price dropped 1.9% on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $236.00 to $234.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vistra traded as low as $170.89 and last traded at $173.4240. Approximately 5,410,457 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 6,077,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.82.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Key Vistra News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Operational beat and AI-driven demand — Vistra said core profit beat estimates, citing stronger power demand driven in part by AI-related loads; this supports the company’s earnings power and growth thesis. Vistra beats quarterly core profit estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record 2025 operating results and constructive 2026 guidance — Vistra reported Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA of ~$5.91B and strong adjusted free cash flow, and its 2026 guidance was presented as reinforcing a multi‑year growth path, which underpins longer‑term valuation. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Fleet expansion improves market positioning — Announcements about expanding Vistra’s dispatchable fleet should boost its exposure to power market upside and demand from data centers and other large users. Fleet expansion article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst view unchanged despite trim — Wells Fargo trimmed its price target slightly from $236 to $234 but kept an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside; the small target cut is a mild signal but not a rating downgrade. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: More color available — Earnings call transcript, slides and multiple analyst write-ups (Zacks, Seeking Alpha, Yahoo/Fool) provide detail for investors to parse operational vs. accounting impacts. Zacks Q4 metrics
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP earnings and revenue misses; large unrealized hedge losses — The quarter showed a sizable EPS and revenue miss against some street estimates, and an $808M non‑cash unrealized commodity hedging loss depressed GAAP results, which likely pressured the stock. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Relative performance concerns — Analyst comparisons (e.g., Zacks piece contrasting VST vs. NRG) note peers may offer stronger ROE, yield or recent performance, which can shift investor preference within the utility/power space. VST vs NRG

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Vistra by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after buying an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vistra by 15.1% in 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 buying an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $930,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.67. The stock has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $0.228 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

About Vistra

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.