A strong performer from today's afternoon trading session is Vistra, whose shares rose 3.9% to $167.06 per share. For those of you thinking about investing in the stock, here is a brief value analysis of the stock using the company's basic fundamental ratios.
Vistra's Valuation Is in Line With Its Sector Averages:
Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company belongs to the Utilities sector, which has an average price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.52 and an average price to book (P/B) ratio of 2.2. In contrast, Vistra has a trailing 12 month P/E ratio of 31.5 and a P/B ratio of 19.2.
Vistra has moved 310.0% over the last year compared to 23.7% for the S&P 500 — a difference of 286.3%. Vistra has a 52 week high of $169.18 and a 52 week low of $38.95.
The Company May Be Profitable, but Its Balance Sheet Is Highly Leveraged:
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (M) | $9,144 | $11,809 | $11,443 | $12,077 | $13,728 | $14,779 |
| Operating Margins | 5% | 17% | 13% | -13% | -9% | 18% |
| Net Margins | -1% | 8% | 6% | -11% | -9% | 10% |
| Net Income (M) | -$54 | $928 | $636 | -$1,274 | -$1,227 | $1,493 |
| Net Interest Expense (M) | $572 | $797 | $630 | $384 | $368 | $740 |
| Depreciation & Amort. (M) | $1,394 | $1,640 | $1,737 | $1,753 | $1,596 | $1,502 |
| Diluted Shares (M) | 505 | 500 | 491 | 482 | 422 | 375 |
| Earnings Per Share | -$0.11 | $1.86 | $1.3 | -$2.69 | -$3.26 | $3.58 |
| Free Cash Flow (M) | $941 | $2,023 | $2,078 | -$1,239 | -$816 | $3,777 |
| CAPEX (M) | $530 | $713 | $1,259 | $1,033 | $1,301 | $1,676 |
| Total Debt (M) | $21,748 | $20,204 | $18,470 | $20,954 | $23,866 | $24,232 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 11.2 | 5.48 | 5.55 | 82.47 | 55.87 | 4.98 |
| Current Ratio | 0.95 | 0.9 | 1.13 | 1.35 | 1.08 | 1.18 |
Vistra has growing revenues and increasing reinvestment in the business, decent operating margins with a positive growth rate, and positive cash flows. However, the firm has a highly leveraged balance sheet. Finally, we note that Vistra has just enough current assets to cover current liabilities, as shown by its current ratio of 1.18.
