Vistra (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke Sells 21,363 Shares

Key Points

• Vistra CEO James Burke sold 21,363 shares at an average price of $209.34, totaling approximately $4.47 million, leading to a 7.09% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.01, missing estimates by $0.62, with revenue of $4.25 billion against expectations of $5.15 billion.
• Vistra recently increased its dividend from $0.23 to $0.226 per share, marking a 0.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 14.35%.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) CEO James Burke sold 21,363 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.34, for a total value of $4,472,130.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 279,952 shares in the company, valued at $58,605,151.68. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock traded down $8.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,994,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,225. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $200.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.51. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $90.51 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 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 company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Vistra by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,253,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Vistra by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,884,000 after purchasing an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 913,350 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VST shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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 increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.31.

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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