Insider Selling: Vistra (NYSE:VST) EVP Sells $1,424,763.65 in Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 8,219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $1,424,763.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,842,690.90. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vistra Price Performance

VST opened at $179.00 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.92 and a 200 day moving average of $188.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $60.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.62, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.60 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.227 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VST. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its stake in Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 2,700.0% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $28,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.