Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 3.2% on Insider Selling

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) shares traded down 3.2% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $147.50 and last traded at $148.7220. 3,638,632 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 5,177,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.70.

Specifically, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.33.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $50.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $154.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.31.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Payden & Rygel grew its stake in Vistra by 3,118.2% in the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,729,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,343,000 after buying an additional 192,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,479,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.