HNRG vs AEP vs VST Stock Comparison

Hallador Energy, American Electric Power and Vistra Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HNRG Hallador Energy Co
$11.89 -17.4% 1M -43.5% 1Y
Market cap
$566.54M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$452.10M
Div. yield
–
Independent Power Producers Utilities
1 win
VST Vistra Corp.
$142.63 +3.3% 1M -25.2% 1Y
Market cap
$48.45B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.21B
Div. yield
0.01%
Independent Power Producers Utilities
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

American Electric Power leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (American Electric Power 5, Vistra 5, Hallador Energy 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHNRGAEPVSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $566.54M $70.26B $48.45B AEP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -621.2x 25.4x 23.9x VST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.3x 16.2x VST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.9% +10.3% +3.8% AEP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.2% 12.1% 10.6% AEP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.5% 11.3% VST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 6.0x 2.8x HNRG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.5% +11.4% -25.2% AEP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +29.8%/yr +8.6%/yr +48.8%/yr VST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.4% 19.4% 50.8% AEP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 40/100 68/100 VST

Percentile Scorecard

HNRGAEPVST

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

AxisHNRGAEPVST
Valuation 39 #15 of 24 24 #51 of 67 74 #7 of 24
Growth 18 #19 of 23 64 #24 of 65 55 #11 of 23
Profitability 46 #13 of 23 57 #27 of 62 100 #1 of 23
Financial Health 57 #11 of 24 28 #45 of 62 39 #15 of 24
Shareholder Returns 17 #16 of 19 29 #48 of 67 72 #6 of 19
Overall 35 40 68
  • HNRG ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation
  • AEP ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • VST ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHNRGAEPVSTSPY
1 month -17.4%+8.5%+3.3% +0.9%
3 months -13.2%-0.9%-0.1% +5.9%
6 months -21.6%-4.6%-7.3% +8.5%
Year to date -37.6%+11.2%-11.6% +13.3%
1 year -43.5%+11.4%-25.2% +12.4%
3 years -17.7%+71.1%+345.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year -6.3%+19.6%+64.6% +23.5%
5 years +268.1%+51.3%+628.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +29.8%+8.6%+48.8% +11.0%
10 years +31.8%+102.2%+838.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +2.8%+7.3%+25.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureHNRGAEPVSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.4%19.4%50.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.1%19.3%54.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.73-0.071.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.680.59-0.50 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.1%-32.2%-48.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.1%-7.6%-28.5% -0.9%
52-week high $23.81$138.69$199.37 $779.14
52-week low $10.99$113.70$134.71 $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.

MultipleHNRGAEPVST
P/E now vs peer median -614.5xmedian 24.9x 25.3xmedian 20.8x 23.7xmedian 24.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.7x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 2.5xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 99.6xmedian 11.6x 13.9xmedian 13.1x 10.4xmedian 11.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.1xmedian 13.8x -12.1xmedian 35.3x 21.2xmedian 13.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.1x 2.1xmedian 1.7x 8.7xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 23.45median 0.61 2.73median 2.18 1.49median 0.61

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 monthsHNRGAEPVST
Revenue $452.10M $22.79B $19.21B
Gross profit – $15.43B –
Operating income $16.94M $5.24B $3.56B
Net income -$912.00K $3.07B $2.22B
Free cash flow -$50.46M -$5.75B $2.26B
R&D $468.00K – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.02 $5.02 $5.98
Cash & equivalents $28.98M $375.00M $435.00M
Total debt $158.45M $52.84B $19.60B
Shares (diluted) 47.13M 550.63M 339.23M
Enterprise value $478.05M $67.43B $41.63B

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
MetricHNRGAEPVST
P/E -614.5x 25.3x 23.7x
P/FCF -11.1x -12.1x 21.2x
P/Operating cash flow 20.1x 9.1x 9.4x
P/S 1.2x 3.1x 2.5x
P/B 2.9x 2.1x 8.7x
P/Tangible book 2.9x 2.1x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA 99.6x 13.9x 10.4x
EV/EBIT 33.9x 23.3x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 5.4x 3.4x
EV/FCF -11.4x -21.2x 29.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.5x 15.9x 12.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 23.45 2.73 1.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHNRGAEPVST
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.9% 10.3% 3.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -8.3% 5.4% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 7.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 109.0% 2.2% -0.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -43.0% 19.5% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 99.5% -17.4% -8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -26.2% 15.7% 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 99.6% 5.2% -6.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -26.2% 9.2% 15.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -63.1% 17.1% 21.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -34.2% 22.6% 6.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -295.8% -63.5% 36.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.2% -19.1% -4.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHNRGAEPVST
Gross margin – 67.7% –
EBITDA margin 1.3% 38.4% 33.0%
Operating margin 3.7% 23.0% 18.5%
Pretax margin -0.2% 15.4% 14.6%
Net margin -0.2% 12.1% 10.6%
FCF margin -11.2% -25.2% 11.7%
Operating cash flow margin 6.2% 33.8% 26.7%
Return on equity 0.5% 9.6% 40.0%
Return on assets 0.2% 2.7% 5.3%
Return on invested capital – 5.5% 11.3%
Return on capital employed 6.8% 5.0% 11.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -30.7x 2.5x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% – 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHNRGAEPVST
Debt / assets 9.2% 43.5% 46.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 1.6x 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 6.0x 2.8x
Debt / FCF -0.9x -9.2x 8.7x
Liabilities / assets 59.3% 72.6% 87.1%
Equity / assets 40.7% 27.4% 12.9%
Interest coverage 1.0x 2.4x 3.1x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.5x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.94 0.92 1.53

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHNRGAEPVST
Dividend yield – 3.0% 0.6%
Net buyback yield -9.6% – 2.4%
Shareholder yield -9.6% 3.0% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusHNRGAEPVST
Forward P/E – 21.3xFY2026 16.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2026 $6.01FY2026 $8.83FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -136.5%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +305.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +19.0% +21.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $474.13MFY2026 $23.09BFY2026 $21.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.0%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.3% +3.5% +20.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHNRGAEPVST
Held by institutions 76.3% 92.1% 84.4%
Institutions holding 171 1,985 1,403
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% +13.2% +2.7%
Institutions buying 86 1,065 852
Institutions selling 52 584 415
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.82 2.05

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.

HNRGAEPVST
HNRG 1.00 -0.04 0.33
AEP -0.04 1.00 0.21
VST 0.33 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HNRG, AEP and VST?

American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hallador Energy (HNRG) $566.54M, American Electric Power (AEP) $70.26B, Vistra (VST) $48.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, HNRG, AEP and VST?

Vistra (VST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hallador Energy (HNRG) -621.2x, American Electric Power (AEP) 25.4x, Vistra (VST) 23.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vistra (VST) is cheapest (American Electric Power (AEP) 21.3x, Vistra (VST) 16.2x). 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: Hallador Energy (HNRG) +7.9%, American Electric Power (AEP) +10.3%, Vistra (VST) +3.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

American Electric Power (AEP) has the highest net margin (Hallador Energy (HNRG) -0.2%, 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: Hallador Energy (HNRG) -43.5%, American Electric Power (AEP) +11.4%, Vistra (VST) -25.2%. Over five years, Vistra (VST) compounded fastest (Hallador Energy (HNRG) +29.8%/yr, American Electric Power (AEP) +8.6%/yr, Vistra (VST) +48.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Electric Power (AEP) has been the steadiest (Hallador Energy (HNRG) 64.4%, American Electric Power (AEP) 19.4%, Vistra (VST) 50.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American Electric Power (AEP) leads on 5. 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.