Stephanie Zapata Moore Sells 8,219 Shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $1,424,763.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,842,690.90. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Vistra Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE VST traded up $6.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,936,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,344,718. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.95, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $209,149,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 280.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,876,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen started coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four 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 company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.20.

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.