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

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $147.50 and last traded at $148.7220. 3,638,632 shares were traded during mid-day 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 dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,600. The trade was a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vistra from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.33.

Vistra Stock 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

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.