Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 3.4% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Vistra Corp.'s stock price fell by 3.4% after CEO James A. Burke sold shares, with transactions totaling over $9 million within a few days.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.226 per share, an increase from the previous dividend, reflecting a 0.5% yield.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Vistra, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $229.31, despite recent sell-offs and earnings misses.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $192.81 and last traded at $194.42. Approximately 4,028,116 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 6,564,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.35.

Specifically, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.34, for a total value of $4,472,130.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 279,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,605,151.68. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total value of $4,595,809.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 282,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,817,700.37. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,364 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.63, for a total transaction of $4,478,535.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 272,004 shares in the company, valued at $57,020,198.52. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.31.

Vistra Trading Down 3.4%

The stock has a market cap of $65.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. Equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at $930,080,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $209,149,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 280.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company's stock worth $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after buying an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vistra

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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