Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) versus Vistra (NYSE:VST) Head-To-Head Review

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

Risk and Volatility

Vistra has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballard Power Systems has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Vistra and Ballard Power Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vistra	6.70%	64.04%	4.45%
Ballard Power Systems	-409.35%	-21.52%	-18.62%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vistra and Ballard Power Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vistra	$17.22 billion	3.31	$2.66 billion	$2.77	60.75
Ballard Power Systems	$90.25 million	9.03	-$324.24 million	($0.40)	-6.78

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.9% of Vistra shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Vistra and Ballard Power Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vistra	0	3	11	4	3.06
Ballard Power Systems	6	11	0	0	1.65

Vistra currently has a consensus price target of $234.36, suggesting a potential upside of 39.27%. Ballard Power Systems has a consensus price target of $2.11, suggesting a potential downside of 22.01%. Given Vistra’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Vistra is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.

Summary

Vistra beats Ballard Power Systems on 13 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 Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications. It also engages in the delivery of services, including technology solutions, after sales services, and training; and provision of engineering services, product and systems integration services, and related technology transfer for a variety of PEM fuel cell applications. It operates in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, India, Taiwan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for the co-development and sale of fuel cell powertrains and components for class 1 and 2 vehicles in North America and Europe. Ballard Power Systems Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.