Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $113.46 and last traded at $113.55. 2,841,225 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 9,486,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VST. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two 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, Vistra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.83.

Vistra Trading Down 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $158.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $2,795,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at $47,990,029.50. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 28.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $238,000. Seascape Capital Management acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the third quarter worth about $268,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.