Vistra (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke Sells 21,360 Shares

Key Points

• Vistra CEO James Burke sold 21,360 shares of the company's stock on September 23rd for a total of $4,490,085.60, reducing his ownership by 8.22%.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, up from $0.23, with an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• Analysts have given Vistra a consensus rating of "Buy", with a target price averaging $217.13 following several upgrades from major firms.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) CEO James Burke sold 21,360 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.21, for a total transaction of $4,490,085.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 238,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,139,289.20. The trade was a 8.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST traded down $2.09 on Wednesday, hitting $202.15. 3,841,124 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,389,351. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $199.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 29.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock worth $30,021,000 after buying an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $217.13.

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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