Vistra (NYSE:VST) CEO Sells $3,947,222.28 in Stock

Key Points

• Vistra CEO James Burke sold 19,596 shares of the company's stock, totaling approximately $3.95 million, resulting in a decrease of 6.84% in his ownership.
• Vistra recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.226 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.5%.
• The company reported Q2 earnings with $1.01 EPS, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.63, while revenue was $4.25 billion against an expected $5.15 billion.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) CEO James Burke sold 19,596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.43, for a total transaction of $3,947,222.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 266,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,728,028.19. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $12.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,359,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,643,853. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $200.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.05. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $90.51 and a one year high of $219.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at $209,149,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.85.

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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