James Burke Sells 21,371 Shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock

Key Points

• Vistra CEO James Burke sold 21,371 shares of the company's stock for a total of $4.37 million, resulting in a 6.91% decrease in his holdings.
• The company's stock experienced a decrease, trading at $186.29, down $7.95 from the previous day, with a 52-week range between $90.51 and $219.82.
• Vistra recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.226, yielding 0.5%, up from the previous $0.23 per share.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) CEO James Burke sold 21,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.57, for a total value of $4,371,865.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 287,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,887,315.63. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST traded down $7.95 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $186.29. 5,776,911 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,560,928. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $200.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.99. The company has a market capitalization of $63.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Cowen assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $229.31.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

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

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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