Vistra (VST) Competitors

Vistra (NYSE:VST) and National Grid (NYSE:NGG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer VST or NGG?

National Grid received 205 more outperform votes than Vistra when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 67.32% of users gave Vistra an outperform vote while only 58.48% of users gave National Grid an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Vistra	Outperform Votes 309 67.32%	Underperform Votes 150 32.68%
National Grid	Outperform Votes 514 58.48%	Underperform Votes 365 41.52%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in VST or NGG?

90.9% of Vistra shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.7% of National Grid shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is VST or NGG more profitable?

Vistra has a net margin of 12.51% compared to National Grid's net margin of 0.00%. Vistra's return on equity of 57.63% beat National Grid's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vistra	12.51%	57.63%	6.02%
National Grid	N/A	N/A	N/A

Is VST or NGG a better dividend stock?

Vistra pays an annual dividend of $0.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. National Grid pays an annual dividend of $2.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Vistra pays out 12.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Grid pays out 38.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Do analysts rate VST or NGG?

Vistra presently has a consensus target price of $166.17, indicating a potential upside of 28.13%. Given Vistra's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vistra is more favorable than National Grid.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vistra	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.77
National Grid	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Does the media refer more to VST or NGG?

In the previous week, Vistra had 15 more articles in the media than National Grid. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Vistra and 23 mentions for National Grid. Vistra's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat National Grid's score of 0.17 indicating that Vistra is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Vistra	29 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Grid	5 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility & risk, VST or NGG?

Vistra has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Grid has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, VST or NGG?

National Grid has higher revenue and earnings than Vistra. National Grid is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vistra, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vistra	$17.22B	2.56	$1.49B	$7.05	18.40
National Grid	$19.32B	3.70	$2.88B	$5.20	14.04

Summary

Vistra beats National Grid on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.