Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Down 4.6% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. saw its shares drop 4.6% on Monday, following significant insider selling by CEO James A. Burke, who sold over 64,000 shares overall.
• Wall Street analysts have responded to Vistra's performance with mixed ratings, including a downgrade to "sell" from Wall Street Zen and various target price adjustments from firms like Jefferies and UBS Group.
• The company recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.226, reflecting a commitment to return value to shareholders despite market fluctuations.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.6% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $197.70 and last traded at $197.71. 8,280,167 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 6,742,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.22.

Specifically, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.82, for a total value of $4,355,837.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,150,989.18. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $4,273,662.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,729,623. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 238,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,139,289.20. This represents a 8.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $218.20.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $199.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.226 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. City State Bank lifted its holdings in Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 19,300.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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