Head to Head Survey: Vistra (NYSE:VST) vs. Nextera Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP)

Vistra (NYSE:VST) and Nextera Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.9% of Vistra shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of Nextera Energy Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Nextera Energy Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Vistra and Nextera Energy Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vistra	12.51%	57.63%	6.02%
Nextera Energy Partners	-0.73%	1.34%	0.85%

Dividends

Vistra pays an annual dividend of $0.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Nextera Energy Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.67 per share. Vistra pays out 16.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nextera Energy Partners pays out -3,670.0% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vistra and Nextera Energy Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vistra	$14.78 billion	3.86	$1.49 billion	$5.36	31.27
Nextera Energy Partners	$1.23 billion	0.00	-$10.00 million	($0.10)	N/A

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Vistra and Nextera Energy Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vistra	0	1	10	0	2.91
Nextera Energy Partners	2	0	0	0	1.00

Vistra currently has a consensus target price of $171.64, indicating a potential upside of 2.41%. Nextera Energy Partners has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Vistra’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vistra is more favorable than Nextera Energy Partners.

Risk and Volatility

Vistra has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nextera Energy Partners has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vistra beats Nextera Energy Partners on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. In addition, the company is involved in the electricity generation, wholesale energy purchases and sales, commodity risk management, fuel production, and fuel logistics management activities. It serves approximately 4 million customers with a generation capacity of approximately 37,000 megawatts with a portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. The company was formerly known as Vistra Energy Corp. and changed its name to Vistra Corp. in July 2020. Vistra Corp. was founded in 1882 and is based in Irving, Texas.

About Nextera Energy Partners

NextEra Energy Partners LP engages in the acquisition, management, and ownership of contracted clean energy projects with long-term cash flows. It owns interests in wind and solar projects in North America and natural gas infrastructure assets in Texas. The company was founded on March 6, 2014 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, FL.