11 Cheap NYSE Stocks to Invest in According to Hedge Funds

2. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Forward P/E Ratio as of April 8: 14.22

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company through five segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, and Asset Closure. It serves ~5 million customers with a generation capacity of ~41,000 megawatts with a portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities.

In 2024, the company acquired 3 nuclear sites and gained around 1 million customers together with 2,000 new employees. It then became the second-largest nuclear fleet in the US. It made a $2.8 billion net income. Later in December of the same year, the company announced that it deployed 2 new solar projects in Illinois.

The company’s 1,185-megawatt (MW) Baldwin Power Plant in Illinois will now operate until 2027 instead of closing operations in 2025. It invested ~$135 million in Illinois energy, and the solar facility will generate ~140,000 MWh of clean energy for the next 2 decades.

Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated retail and power generation company with operations across the U.S., primarily serving Texas and the Midwest. We believe Vistra is well-positioned to capitalize on the structural tightening of power markets, as electricity demand accelerates, and baseload generation capacity continues to retire. This trend has been amplified by the rapid growth of AI, which is driving unprecedented demand for data centers and the power required to run them. These factors create a favorable pricing environment for Vistra’s generation fleet, especially its nuclear and gas assets. The company has locked in much of this value via hedging, providing clear visibility into future cash flows. Vistra has also successfully grown its retail business and completed a strategic acquisition of Energy Harbor, which added a portfolio of nuclear, retail, and renewable assets.”