15 Best Stocks to Buy During Recession

2. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the company’s stock with a “Neutral” rating and a price objective of $134. The firm sees Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) as well-placed to benefit from increased power demand. The company remains well-placed to serve customer needs and grow with the overall electrification trends in the broader industry. During Q4 2024, the company advanced its efforts in solar, energy storage, and nuclear by executing the renewable development pipeline. It brought online the first 2 projects, which are part of its Illinois Coal to Solar & Energy Storage Initiative at Baldwin (70 MW) and Coffeen (46 MW), revitalizing retired and to-be-retired coal plant sites.

Next, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) grew its ownership interest in nuclear by closing on an agreement for the acquisition of the entire 15% minority interest in its Vistra Vision subsidiary, making the company the sole owner of its highly valuable, carbon-free assets. This acquisition increased its nuclear ownership by ~970 MW and its solar and energy storage ownership by ~200 MW. Elsewhere, Morningstar believes that the company remains well-placed to benefit from potential electricity demand growth associated with new data centers, manufacturing, and EVs. Moving forward, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)’s growth is expected to be driven by its scale and size, together with its diversified portfolio of energy generation assets.

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Volatility also created entry points to motivate our first purchase in the utility sector, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST), as well as reduce our underweight to the consumer discretionary sector with the addition of CAVA Group. Vistra is the largest competitive power generator in the U.S. with a 41 GW fleet of power plants diversified by geography and fuel sources. Long-term fundamentals of the deregulated power markets remain constructive with Vistra well positioned to benefit from continued tightening in its primary PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland Interconnection) and ERCOT (Texas) markets. Pending regulatory clarity could also pave the way for additional power purchase agreements with hyperscalers and act as a positive catalyst for independent power producer stocks. These agreements, in combination with federal subsidies for nuclear plants, have the potential to improve visibility and lower earnings variability across the industry.”