Vistra CEO James Burke buys $903,000 of stock in an 8.9% week
Vistra CEO James Burke bought 6,665 shares on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 for about $903,000. VST then closed the week up 8.91%, NRG rose 7.11%, and HPE gave back a post earnings gain.
Vistra's chief executive bought stock on the last day of August and again on Sept. 1, and the shares climbed in the three sessions that followed. James Burke paid about $903,000 for 6,665 shares, and Vistra closed the week ended Sept. 4 up 8.91%, the largest gain among the Texas large caps we checked.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported a 34% jump in revenue on Sept. 2, but the stock ended the week down 0.59%. And TOP Financial Group, a Nasdaq listed online brokerage, said it's moving its global headquarters to Houston.
Burke's buy
Burke's Form 4, filed Sept. 2, shows 2,200 shares bought Aug. 31 at a weighted average of $135.99 and 4,465 shares on Sept. 1 at $135.25. Both went into JAMEB, LP, which held 1,146,352 shares afterward, and the preset trading plan box isn't checked. The dollar total is a Lone Star Index calculation from the filing.
Vistra (VST) lists Irving as its business address in its latest quarterly report. The stock closed at $137.09 on Aug. 28 and $149.30 on Sept. 4, per StockAnalysis. Most of that came after Burke's buys, with the biggest single day on Sept. 2, when shares rose to $143.46 from $138.08.
A Form 4 doesn't give a reason, but this one shows a discretionary purchase, not a scheduled plan trade.
Our read
Burke's buy is small next to what he already owns. Before these trades he held about 1.24 million Vistra shares directly, through JAMEB and through two family trusts, all listed on his Form 4. So the 6,665 shares added roughly half of one percent, and at the prices he paid the whole stake comes to something like $168 million. Those are Lone Star Index calculations from the filing, and they make this look like a modest add more than a big bet.
The timing is more interesting than the size. Four weeks before the first buy, Gov. Greg Abbott told the PUC and ERCOT to audit data centers seeking a grid connection, in a queue ERCOT says holds more than 1,800 projects and over 474 gigawatts, and ERCOT put part of its review on pause, the Texas Tribune reported. On Vistra's Aug. 7 call Burke said he'd like to see the queues culled, said soft wholesale prices in 2026 weren't a big surprise and trimmed Vistra's ERCOT load growth outlook to 4% to 6% a year from 5% to 6%, per Utility Dive. He said he doesn't see the Comanche Peak deal with Amazon, set to start delivering in 2027, being affected, and he called data centers "an important driver of load, particularly in 2028 and beyond."
So the CEO is buying a few weeks after telling investors this year in Texas is soft and pointing to 2028 and later for data center load. Our read is that the buy fits his own longer view of Texas demand more than anything in the current quarter. It's one insider and a small add, though, and a Form 4 can't tell us whether he sees the Texas pause as a real setback or just a delay.
A good week for Texas power
NRG Energy (NRG), based in Houston, had a similar week. Here's how the two compared with a pair of other Texas large caps, all Lone Star Index calculations from the same price reference.
| Stock | Aug. 28 close | Sept. 4 close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vistra (VST) | $137.09 | $149.30 | +8.91% |
| NRG Energy (NRG) | $111.12 | $119.02 | +7.11% |
| Tesla (TSLA) | $348.75 | $354.08 | +1.53% |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) | $52.31 | $52.00 | -0.59% |
NRG made most of its move on Sept. 4 alone, closing at $119.02 after $111.84 the day before. We didn't find company news that day, so we're reporting the move without a reason.
HPE's beat didn't stick
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reported fiscal third quarter results on Sept. 2. Revenue rose 34% to $12.2 billion and adjusted earnings came to $1.11 a share, per the company's earnings release. It guided fourth quarter revenue to $13.9 billion to $14.8 billion and raised its full year outlook. Networking revenue rose 74.9% to $2.9 billion.
The stock jumped 5.04% on Sept. 3 to $54.44 and then gave it back, closing the week down 0.59%. HPE's Sept. 3 quarterly report lists Spring as its business address.
Other insider buys
Other Texas insiders made open market purchases in filings dated Aug. 31 through Sept. 6. Angela John, a TETRA Technologies (TTI) director, bought 10,000 shares at $6.50 on Sept. 2, about $65,000, per her filing. TETRA lists Spring as its address in its latest quarterly report. FTC Solar director Shaker Sadasivam kept going after last week, filing for 39,583 shares at $2.35 on Aug. 27 and 101,083 at $2.69 on Aug. 28, about $365,000 together. His larger trade left him with 255,464 shares held directly. SoftVest, a 10% owner of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT), bought 6,236 more units on Sept. 1 and 2 at $10.51 and $10.63, per its filing.
A New York fund, Conifer Management, also reported buying 30,100 Group 1 Automotive (GPI) shares on Sept. 1 and 2 as a 10% owner, per its filing. Group 1 lists Houston as its business address. The rest is on Insider Radar.
A brokerage says it's coming to Houston
TOP Financial Group, a Nasdaq listed online brokerage, said on Sept. 4 that it's moving its global headquarters to 4201 Main Street in Houston, per its press release. The move will happen in phases over the coming months, and the release didn't say where the company is leaving. We haven't seen an SEC filing that lists Houston yet, so it goes on the relocation feed as announced.
What to watch
- Sept. 17: HPE's record date for its $0.1425 quarterly dividend, payable on or about Oct. 16, per its earnings release.
- Sept. 21: Vistra's record date for its $0.23 quarterly dividend, payable Sept. 30, per its July 29 release.
- 2027: Vistra's Comanche Peak deal with Amazon is set to start delivering.
The screener has Vistra, NRG and the other Texas large caps in this issue if you want to compare them yourself.
Lone Star Index publishes research, not investment advice.