COMPARE · Reviewed July 2, 2026
CPK vs VST
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. CPK scored 64.3, VST scored 73.8 — VST ahead by 9.5.
CPK
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation
64.3
$125.00
Score gap
9.5
VST leads
VST
Vistra Corp.
73.8
$151.05
The companies
CPKChesapeake Utilities Corporation
Why now
Utilities - Regulated Gas · market cap $3.0b. 11% off the 52-week high of $140.59. Revenue growing +18%, comfortably above the S&P median. 5 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $145.80 (implying +17% upside).
Moat
Net margin 15% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$210m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Reserve-replacement treadmill — every barrel or ounce extracted has to be replaced through exploration or acquisition; underspending on replacement reserves shows up in production declines 2-3 years out.
VSTVistra Corp.
Why now
Utilities - Independent Power Producers · market cap $50.9b. Down 31% from 52-week high of $219.82 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.47 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $222.89 (implying +48% upside).
Moat
Net margin 12% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 40% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $50.9b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 3.55 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Down 31% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Beta 1.41 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
Base grades (each contributes ~14.3% of base composite)
| CPK | Component | VST |
|---|---|---|
| F35 | FCF | C+70 |
| B+85 | Rev | B+85 |
| A-90 | D/E | D50 |
| B80 | P/E or P/S | C65 |
| C65 | PEG | A95 |
| Supplemental signals · feed the score, not on the row card | ||
| F35 | FCF Yield | B80 |
| C+70 | ROE | A95 |
| 64.2 | Base composite | 77.5 |
Adjustments (signed deltas applied on top of base)
CPK
insider cluster buying (net +24.7%, 17 txns)+2
utility structural leverage credit+2
Total+4
VST
GARP sweet spot (PEG <1, positive FCF)+1
high leverage (D/E 3.6)-2
analyst consensus bullish (95% buy/strong-buy)+2
insider cluster buying (net +49.5%, 29 txns)+2
forward P/E cheaper (25 → 14)+1
DCF cross-check (avg upside -33%)-1
Total+3
DCF cross-check (per-share value vs. live price)
| CPK upside | Horizon | VST upside |
|---|---|---|
| — | 1Y | -52% |
| — | 5Y | -38% |
| — | 10Y | -9% |
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.