James Burke Buys 4,465 Shares of Vistra (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) CEO James Burke acquired 4,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at $155,044,108. This trade represents a 0.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST traded up $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $140.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,411,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,872,870. The firm has a market cap of $47.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.19.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VST. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Vistra by 15,825.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,386,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,896,343,000 after buying an additional 61,994,589 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vistra by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $746,729,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.