Vistra (NYSE:VST) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Vistra Corp. shares gapped down to $202.00 from a previous close of $207.22 following significant insider selling by CEO James A. Burke, who sold a total of 64,110 shares over multiple transactions.
• Analysts have mixed views on Vistra, with price targets ranging from $191.00 to $248.00, while three analysts rated it as a Strong Buy and two as a Sell.
• Despite a quarterly earnings miss of $0.62 below analyst expectations, the company announced a slightly increased quarterly dividend, reflecting ongoing confidence in its cash flow stability.

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $207.22, but opened at $202.00. Vistra shares last traded at $200.41, with a volume of 2,239,314 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 241,149 shares in the company, valued at $49,150,989.18. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $4,273,662.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.21, for a total value of $4,490,085.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 238,520 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $218.20.

Vistra Trading Down 3.4%

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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.07. The company has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 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 payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vistra by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Fogel Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fogel Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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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