AEP vs VST vs NGG Stock Comparison

American Electric Power, Vistra and National Grid Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VST Vistra Corp.
$140.15 +1.6% 1M -26.8% 1Y
Market cap
$47.77B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
3 wins
NGG National Grid Plc
$81.87 +8.8% 1M +6.7% 1Y
Market cap
$80.86B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

National Grid leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (National Grid 4, American Electric Power 4, Vistra 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAEPVSTNGGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $70.33B $47.77B $80.86B NGG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 23.6x 18.6x NGG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 15.9x 14.0x NGG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +3.8% — AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.1% 10.6% — AEP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.5% 11.3% — VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 2.8x — VST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.6% -26.8% +6.7% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.7%/yr +49.0%/yr +5.4%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.4% 51.0% 22.4% AEP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 68/100 73/100 NGG

Percentile Scorecard

AEPVSTNGG

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAEPVSTNGG
Valuation 23 #52 of 67 74 #7 of 24 52 #33 of 67
Growth 64 #24 of 65 55 #11 of 23 –
Profitability 58 #28 of 65 100 #1 of 23 –
Financial Health 26 #49 of 66 39 #15 of 24 79 #15 of 66
Shareholder Returns 27 #49 of 67 74 #6 of 20 89 #8 of 67
Overall 40 68 73
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • NGG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAEPVSTNGGSPY
1 month +9.5%+1.6%+8.8% -1.0%
3 months -4.3%-14.2%-0.5% +2.9%
6 months -3.7%-14.7%-6.3% +6.4%
Year to date +12.5%-13.1%+5.8% +11.4%
1 year +11.6%-26.8%+6.7% +13.1%
3 years +73.5%+328.6%+37.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.2%+62.5%+11.1% +21.5%
5 years +51.5%+633.4%+30.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +8.7%+49.0%+5.4% +10.9%
10 years +107.6%+792.7%+14.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.6%+24.5%+1.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAEPVSTNGGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.4%51.0%22.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%55.0%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.071.590.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.60-0.520.30 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.2%-48.9%-40.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-30.4%-12.8% -2.5%
52-week high $138.69$201.47$93.93 $779.14
52-week low $113.70$134.71$73.54 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAEPVSTNGG
P/E now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 20.8x 23.3xmedian 24.1x 18.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.8x 2.5xmedian 2.6x 3.6xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 13.1x 10.2xmedian 11.3x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.3xmedian 36.7x 20.9xmedian 12.9x -29.4xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.7x 8.6xmedian 2.1x 1.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.77median 2.27 1.47median 0.59 —median 2.27

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAEPVSTNGG
Revenue $22.79B $19.21B –
Gross profit $15.43B – –
Operating income $5.24B $3.56B –
Net income $3.07B $2.22B –
Free cash flow -$5.75B $2.26B –
EPS (diluted) $5.02 $5.98 –
Cash & equivalents $375.00M $435.00M $493.98M
Total debt $52.84B $19.60B $61.59B
Shares (diluted) 550.63M 339.23M 994.20M
Enterprise value $67.50B $40.96B $53.16B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAEPVSTNGG
P/E 25.6x 23.3x 18.6x
P/FCF -12.3x 20.9x -29.4x
P/Operating cash flow 9.2x 9.2x –
P/S 3.1x 2.5x 3.6x
P/B 2.1x 8.6x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 14.7x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 14.0x 10.2x –
EV/EBIT 23.4x 18.2x –
EV/Revenue 5.4x 3.4x –
EV/FCF -21.3x 28.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x 12.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.77 1.47 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEPVSTNGG
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 3.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 4.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.8% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.2% -0.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 12.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) -17.4% -8.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 11.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 5.2% -6.0% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 15.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.1% 21.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 6.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -63.5% 36.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% -4.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEPVSTNGG
Gross margin 67.7% – –
EBITDA margin 38.4% 33.0% –
Operating margin 23.0% 18.5% –
Pretax margin 15.4% 14.6% –
Net margin 12.1% 10.6% –
FCF margin -25.2% 11.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 33.8% 26.7% –
Return on equity 9.6% 40.0% –
Return on assets 2.7% 5.3% –
Return on invested capital 5.5% 11.3% –
Return on capital employed 5.0% 11.3% –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 2.3x –
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEPVSTNGG
Debt / assets 43.5% 46.0% 43.2%
Debt / equity 1.6x 3.6x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.0x 2.8x –
Debt / FCF -9.2x 8.7x –
Liabilities / assets 72.6% 87.1% 63.7%
Equity / assets 27.4% 12.9% 36.3%
Interest coverage 2.4x 3.1x –
Current ratio 0.5x 1.0x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.92 1.52 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEPVSTNGG
Dividend yield 2.9% 0.7% 4.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.4% –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 3.1% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 13.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 13.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.5% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAEPVSTNGG
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 15.9xFY2026 14.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.99FY2026 $8.84FY2026 $5.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.3%FY2026 +305.5%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.2% +21.3% +9.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.04BFY2026 $21.35BFY2026 $25.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.3%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.4% +21.0% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEPVSTNGG
Held by institutions 92.1% 84.4% 6.2%
Institutions holding 1,984 1,403 617
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.2% +2.7% +6.6%
Institutions buying 1,064 852 352
Institutions selling 584 415 159
Buyers to sellers 1.82 2.05 2.21

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AEPVSTNGG
AEP 1.00 0.22 0.51
VST 0.22 1.00 0.14
NGG 0.51 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEP, VST and NGG?

National Grid (NGG) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Electric Power (AEP) $70.33B, Vistra (VST) $47.77B, National Grid (NGG) $80.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEP, VST and NGG?

National Grid (NGG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Electric Power (AEP) 25.5x, Vistra (VST) 23.6x, National Grid (NGG) 18.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Grid (NGG) is cheapest (American Electric Power (AEP) 21.7x, Vistra (VST) 15.9x, National Grid (NGG) 14.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Electric Power (AEP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Electric Power (AEP) has the highest net margin (American Electric Power (AEP) 12.1%, Vistra (VST) 10.6%). On return on invested capital, Vistra (VST) leads (American Electric Power (AEP) 5.5%, Vistra (VST) 11.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Electric Power (AEP) returned the most: American Electric Power (AEP) +11.6%, Vistra (VST) -26.8%, National Grid (NGG) +6.7%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (American Electric Power (AEP) +8.7%/yr, Vistra (VST) +49.0%/yr, National Grid (NGG) +5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: American Electric Power (AEP) 0.00%, Vistra (VST) 0.01%, National Grid (NGG) 0.00%. American Electric Power (AEP) and National Grid (NGG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Electric Power (AEP) has been the steadiest (American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Vistra (VST) 51.0%, National Grid (NGG) 22.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEP, VST and NGG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, National Grid (NGG) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.