8,026 Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson reduced its Vistra stake by 27.5% in the third quarter, selling 8,026 shares and retaining 21,141 shares valued at approximately $2.93 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 90.88%, while Vistra’s CEO purchased shares and an executive sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $202.43, despite Vistra recently missing quarterly earnings and revenue estimates; the company also modestly increased its quarterly dividend to $0.231 per share.

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 27.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,026 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,610,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $468,354,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $381,938,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at $262,169,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at $138,267,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $3,558,631.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at $49,469,648.10. The trade was a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Williams Trading set a $202.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Lake Street Capital set a $194.00 price target on Vistra in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Vistra from $227.00 to $226.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $134.37 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $145.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.52. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $196.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.2310 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. NYSE: VST is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.

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