Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $121.07 and last traded at $121.78. 2,362,851 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,886,178 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VST shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Vistra from $133.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.40.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on VST

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.77. The company has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 4.61%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.221 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.71%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,838,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,932,000 after acquiring an additional 425,126 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 470.0% during the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,769,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108,511 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 9,668.5% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,940,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,015 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Vistra by 25.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,564,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,632,000 after purchasing an additional 514,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vistra by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,758,000 after buying an additional 1,356,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

(Get Free Report)

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.

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