Insider Selling: Vistra (NYSE:VST) Director Sells $37,332.00 in Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Director Paul Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vistra Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:VST opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VST. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 24.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Vistra by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Vistra by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its stake in Vistra by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.