Vistra (NYSE:VST) Director Sells $36,094.92 in Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Director Paul Barbas sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.93, for a total value of $36,094.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,250 shares in the company, valued at $7,877,272.50. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vistra Stock Performance

Vistra stock traded up $5.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $158.53. The stock had a trading volume of 4,650,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,135,272. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $153.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55 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.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Institutional Trading of Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% during the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position 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 valued at $285,343,000 after buying an additional 192,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,479,000 after buying an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VST. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.33.

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.