We recently published an article titled Jim Cramer Discussed 10 Stocks That Can Do Well in December.In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) stands against the other stocks that can do well in December according to Jim Cramer.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently shared a list of ten stocks he believes will perform well in December. He pointed out that stocks that do well in November tend to continue their strong performance into the final month of the year.
Cramer explained that the beginning of a new month brings attention to the previous month’s performance, and with that, a significant influx of money flows into the market. This money, he said, tends to validate the moves of the largest stocks, creating a cycle where money is immediately put to work, often benefiting the Magnificent Seven.
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Cramer also highlighted a common pattern at the end of the year, noting that people tend to make contributions to their retirement accounts when the year is going well. He emphasized that this trend is already visible in the market. When asked why a strong November often translates into a positive December, Cramer pointed to the mechanics of money management. He said that this pattern isn’t new for him, elaborating:
“Before I started my Charitable Trust more than two decades ago, I ran a hedge fund. I was always looking for an edge, and one of the most reliable patterns I found is that, when December rolls around, you mimic the biggest winners of November.”
Cramer recalled how, during his hedge fund days, he would focus on the top-performing stocks of November, buying heavily into those picks and letting them continue to perform through the end of the year. He remarked that this approach has proven to be successful year after year.
In addition to the stocks he recommended, Cramer also noted a category of stocks tied to travel. He mentioned that travel-related industries, including airlines and cruise ships, were particularly strong in November and could continue to show promise in December.
“Now, there are other[s] underneath this list, ones that involve traveling. To me, that means you could buy anything connected to travel, including the airlines… Cruise ships work… But the bottom line: If you want to know what I think could do best in the month of December, or simply what worked best in the month of November, so now you got your marching orders and I say (buy, buy, buy).”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during a recent episode of Mad Money on December 2. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the third quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Solar panel workers installing a new farm for clean energy generation.
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97
Talking about Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST), Cramer commented:
“Number eight: Vistra… Data centers are electricity hogs. We need more power, ideally of the clean variety. That’s Vistra, merchant of clean electricity with a nuclear kicker, although I still do prefer Constellation Energy for nukes.”
Vistra (NYSE:VST) is an electricity retailer and power generation company that serves a wide range of customers, including residential, commercial, and industrial clients. Recently, it completed its acquisition of a 15% minority stake in Vistra Vision and management noted that it is anticipated to enhance shareholder ownership in Vistra’s zero-carbon assets. This acquisition will notably increase the company’s nuclear generation capacity by approximately 970 megawatts and expand its solar and energy storage capacity by around 200 megawatts.
Vistra (NYSE:VST) has also provided financial guidance for the upcoming years. For 2024, the company anticipates its Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA to fall within the range of $5 billion to $5.2 billion. For 2025, it expects this figure to increase, with a forecasted range of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion. Furthermore, the company has reiterated its 2026 estimate, forecasting a potential midpoint for Ongoing Operations Adjusted EBITDA of over $6 billion.
Overall VST ranks 2nd on our list of the stocks that will do well in December according to Jim Cramer. While we acknowledge the potential of VST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.