Paul M. Barbas Sells 24,136 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Stock

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $124.42 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.40. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $60.73 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The firm has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vistra

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vistra by 213.4% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,412 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $271,000. IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $862,000. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $562,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $164.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.83.

About Vistra

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.