Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $207.22, but opened at $202.00. Vistra shares last traded at $200.41, with a volume of 2,239,314 shares.

Specifically, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.82, for a total transaction of $4,355,837.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 241,149 shares in the company, valued at $49,150,989.18. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,379 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $4,273,662.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,729,623. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,360 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.21, for a total transaction of $4,490,085.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 238,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,139,289.20. The trade was a 8.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $218.20.

Vistra Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $199.88 and its 200-day moving average is $168.07.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.