Rep. Julie Johnson Purchases Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently bought shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST). In a filing disclosed on March 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Vistra stock on February 12th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH TAX EFFICIENT CORE” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) on 2/25/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) on 2/25/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) on 2/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) on 2/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) on 2/14/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 2/14/2025.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $117.98 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $60.73 and a one year high of $199.84. The company has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $156.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.2235 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 12.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 24,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total value of $2,997,449.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,341,513.97. The trade was a 32.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 3rd quarter valued at $742,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $231,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 40,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,810,000 after buying an additional 6,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 274.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 6,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 4,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

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.