Vistra (NYSE:VST) EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore Sells 10,000 Shares

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $1,603,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares in the company, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $159.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.36, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.81. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. Analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vistra

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the second quarter worth approximately $930,080,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,660,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 280.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,392,299,000 after acquiring an additional 930,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vistra from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.40.

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.