Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.5% After Insider Selling

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $151.33 and last traded at $154.7020. Approximately 4,293,816 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 5,232,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.23.

Specifically, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total transaction of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.33.

Vistra Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.89.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

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.