VST - Vistra and MasterCraft Boat Have Been Highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day | Benzinga
Chicago, IL – July 1, 2024 – Zacks Equity Research shares Vistra (NYSE: VST) as the Bull of the Day and MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MCFT) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) and FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Vistra stock skyrocketed 125% in the first half of 2024, lagging only Super Micro Computer and Nvidia as the top-performing S&P 500 company.
Vistra is thriving as Wall Street embraces the companies that will power the U.S. as the country attempts to transition away from fossil fuels at the same time as the artificial intelligence boom sends energy demand soaring.
Vistra is the largest competitive power generator in the country and it's gone all in on nuclear and other alternative energy sources poised to power the world in the coming decades. VST's earnings and revenue growth outlook is impressive and its most recent EPS estimates showcase even stronger bottom-line expansion.
On top of that, Vistra's recent pullback sets investors up to buy VST stock at a great entry point.
The Energy Transition Megatrend
AI grabbed the lion's share of the headlines so far this year. Yet three of the seven top-performing S&P 500 stocks in the first half of 2024 were new-age energy companies, including Vistra.
Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs view the global energy transition as one of the most important pillars of the U.S. economy during the coming decades.
Alternative energy accounts for roughly 80% of global energy investment growth, and the International Energy Agency estimates that $2 trillion will be spent on clean energy technologies and infrastructure in 2024 alone, across wind, solar, energy storage, nuclear, the electricity grid, and beyond.
Nuclear is rapidly gaining steam as part of the non-fossil fuel energy push as wealthy nations, tech giants, venture capitalists, and beyond finally realize its reliability and nearly boundless potential must be unleased. Microsoft and other firms have partnered directly with nuclear energy companies to fuel their AI-focused data center expansion.
The U.S. co-led in December 2023 a coalition of over 20 countries from four continents that pledged to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. This effort is part of a huge push from the U.S. government to spur spending and investment across non-fossil fuel energy.
VST 101
Vistra is an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. VST's portfolio includes natural gas and coal, which remain vital, as well as nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities.
VST closed its acquisition of Energy Harbor in March to boost its zero-carbon generation portfolio. Vistra added a 4,000-megawatt nuclear generation fleet and roughly 1 million additional retail customers. The Energy Harbor deal transformed Vistra into one of the foremost integrated zero-carbon generation and retail electricity companies.
Vistra owns four nuclear generation facilities, generating enough zero-carbon baseload electricity to power 3.2 million U.S. homes. Vistra owns the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet and boasts the second-largest energy storage capacity in the country. This includes one of the world's largest battery energy storage facilities. Vistra is also actively expanding its portfolio of solar assets.
Vistra said last quarter that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act provides the opportunity to "realize material benefits with respect to its renewables and energy storage projects, as well as provide strong price support via the nuclear production tax credit for its nuclear facilities."
Vistra earlier this year started construction on two of its three larger Illinois combined solar and energy storage projects, as part of the state's Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative.
Growth Outlook and EPS Revisions
The Irving, Texas-based firm currently serves approximately 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers across 20 states, including every major ...