Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 196,805 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 88.7%, selling 196,805 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings down to 24,979 shares valued at approximately $4.84 million.
• Insider selling was notable as CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares for nearly $9 million, reducing his holdings by 16.56%, while insiders collectively sold a total of 590,228 shares in the last quarter.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Vistra Corp., with ratings including four Strong Buy and eleven Buy, as well as a price target range from $207 to $250 per share.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 88.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,979 shares of the company's stock after selling 196,805 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $4,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VST. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $1,159,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 7.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,811 shares of the company's stock worth $9,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,204 shares during the period. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $435,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.0% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 31.4% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 123,521 shares of the company's stock worth $14,506,000 after purchasing an additional 29,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 590,228 shares of company stock worth $121,653,740 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $229.31.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $194.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 2.86 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $200.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Vistra Company Profile

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.

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