Vistra (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke Sells 19,596 Shares of Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke sold 19,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.30, for a total value of $3,905,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,108,006. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Vistra Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $202.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $90.51 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.53.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,021,000 after buying an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.71.

About Vistra

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.