Insider Selling: Vistra (NYSE:VST) CEO Sells 21,364 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. CEO James Burke sold 21,364 shares of stock at an average price of $209.63, representing a 7.28% decrease in his ownership position.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS of $1.01, falling short of estimates by $0.62.
• Vistra recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226, which reflects a 0.4% dividend yield and suggests positive corporate growth strategies.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) CEO James Burke sold 21,364 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.63, for a total transaction of $4,478,535.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 272,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,020,198.52. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Vistra Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of VST stock traded up $5.45 on Wednesday, hitting $210.96. The stock had a trading volume of 5,408,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,782,403. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market cap of $71.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $200.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.32.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a $0.226 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,196,884,000 after purchasing an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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