10 Best Dividend Stocks of 2024

1. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Year-to-Date Returns as of May 20: 147.12%

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) tops our list of the best dividend stocks of 2024, returning over 147% to shareholders since the start of the year. On May 3, the company hiked its quarterly dividend by 1.2% to $0.2175 per share. It has raised its payouts every quarter since 2022. As of May 21, the stock has a dividend yield of 1.13%.

Insider Monkey’s database of Q4 2023 indicated that 56 hedge funds owned stakes in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST), worth over $1.3 billion collectively.

Third Point Management mentioned Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q4 2023 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is one of the largest independent power producers (“IPPs”) and retail electricity providers in the country. In 2023, Vistra’s natural gas, nuclear and coal plants generated over 20% of electricity consumed in Texas.

Unlike regulated utilities, where profits are determined by capital invested, Vistra operates in deregulated markets (primarily ERCOT and PJM), where they generate and sell electricity at market prices. Historically, Vistra has been valued at a steep discount to both the regulated utility sector and the broader market in part due to the challenging fundamentals of merchant power. Stagnant domestic electricity demand combined with an oversupply of natural gas has made US electricity prices among the lowest in the world. Meanwhile, significant growth in subsidized renewable generation has created major intraday price volatility in Vistra’s core markets, with power prices sometimes going negative during periods of abundant sunshine or wind. Bankruptcies, including Vistra’s former parent company TXU in 2014, have become commonplace in the sector over the last decade…” (Click here to read the full text)

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