Vistra (NYSE:VST) Trading Down 2.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) dropped 2.6% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $115.79 and last traded at $118.80. Approximately 2,201,768 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 7,489,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.92.

Specifically, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $2,997,449.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.83.

Vistra Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.40.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.2235 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Vistra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,355,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,402 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,539,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,326,000 after acquiring an additional 219,055 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Vistra by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,260,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,732 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 36.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,781,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,261,000 after purchasing an additional 296,714 shares in the last quarter. 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.