James Burke Purchases 4,465 Shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke bought 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $144.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $132.66 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.86.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO James Burke bought 6,665 Vistra shares in transactions on August 31 and September 1, investing approximately $903,000 and increasing his ownership. The purchases may be viewed as a vote of confidence while the stock trades near recent support levels. Vistra CEO insider buying report
• Positive Sentiment: Peter Thiel’s Thiel Macro disclosed a 372,755-share Vistra position worth about $59.1 million at the end of the second quarter. The investment highlights the potential for electricity generation to become a key beneficiary of AI-related power demand. Peter Thiel fund Vistra investment
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to point to Vistra’s long-term power supply agreements with Amazon Web Services and Meta, including 20-year nuclear PPAs. Combined with hedging, the contracts could improve revenue visibility and cash-flow stability as data-center electricity demand expands. Vistra hedging and long-term PPAs
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity was mixed, with major purchases by JPMorgan and Sixth Street alongside significant reductions by Lone Pine, Jane Street and other funds. This suggests continued interest but no clear consensus on the stock’s near-term value.
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra’s valuation is less compelling after its substantial five-year advance. Investors are weighing future cash-flow growth against balance-sheet risk, including a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Vistra valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: earnings per share were $0.76 versus a $1.61 consensus, while revenue was $4.02 billion compared with estimates of $5.46 billion. The earnings miss remains a fundamental concern despite the longer-term AI power opportunity.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,667,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vistra by 15,825.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,896,343,000 after purchasing an additional 61,994,589 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $961,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in Vistra by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 23,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,759,000 after buying an additional 11,192 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.