Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) vs. Vistra (NYSE:VST) Head-To-Head Contrast

Vistra (NYSE:VST) and Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Vistra and Spruce Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vistra	12.51%	57.63%	6.02%
Spruce Power	-121.98%	-23.98%	-5.48%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Vistra and Spruce Power, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vistra	0	1	10	0	2.91
Spruce Power	0	0	0	0	0.00

Vistra currently has a consensus target price of $171.64, suggesting a potential upside of 14.04%. Given Vistra’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Vistra is more favorable than Spruce Power.

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, Spruce Power has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.9% of Vistra shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.8% of Spruce Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Spruce Power shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vistra and Spruce Power”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vistra	$14.78 billion	3.46	$1.49 billion	$5.36	28.08
Spruce Power	$77.58 million	0.61	-$65.83 million	($5.06)	-0.50

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

Summary

Vistra beats Spruce Power on 13 of the 14 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 Spruce Power

Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.