Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 6.2% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Vistra shares fell 6.2% to about $156.36 on unusually heavy trading after Executive Vice President Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares for approximately $3.56 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 15 Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $217.61, despite some recent target and rating reductions.
• Vistra’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.76 in EPS versus $1.61 expected and $4.02 billion in revenue versus $5.46 billion forecast. The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.23 per share, or $0.92 annualized.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) dropped 6.2% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $155.22 and last traded at $156.3620. Approximately 11,270,648 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 121% from the average daily volume of 5,093,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.72.

Specifically, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $3,558,631.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,469,648.10. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vistra from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.61.

Vistra Stock Down 6.2%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $143.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The firm has a market cap of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 1.38.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.2290. Vistra's payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,672,987,000 after purchasing an additional 79,972 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,616,000 after purchasing an additional 32,982 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $381,938,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp. NYSE: VST is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation facilities and provides electricity and related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage assets.

Vistra also operates a retail electricity business that offers power plans, renewable energy options, and energy-management services. Its retail brands include TXU Energy, Homefield Energy, Dynegy, and Ambit Energy, serving customers in competitive electricity markets across the United States.

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