In this article, we will take a look at the 13 Best Forever Stocks to Buy Right Now.
State of The Market in The Wake of The CPI Report
The first month of 2025 was an interesting one, with inflation rising faster than expected, giving another motivation for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged. The consumer price index, a comprehensive measure of expenses in goods and services throughout the US economy, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for January, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3%. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the CPI increased 0.4%, bringing the 12-month inflation rate to 3.3%, higher than the projections of 0.3% and 3.1%, respectively. According to Josh Jamner, investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments, the report spells the end of the Fed’s rate-cutting cycles:
“The ‘wait and see’ Fed is going to be waiting longer than anticipated after a red-hot January CPI inflation report. This report puts the final nail in the coffin for the rate cut cycle, which we believe is over.”
In addition, policymakers are also keeping a watch on the White House in the wake of President Donald Trump’s advocacy for high tariffs, which might boost prices and make it more difficult for the Fed to reach its goal. Speaking on this, James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, said the following:
“There is no getting away from the fact that this is a hot report and with the sense that potential tariffs run upside risk for inflation the market is understandably of the view the Federal Reserve is going to find it challenging to justify rate cuts in the near future,”
While the consumer price index release is a widely cited inflation gauge, it isn’t the principal metric the Federal Reserve uses. Rather, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure is the personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish later this month, although it also monitors the CPI and other comparable pricing indices. In his remarks before the House Financial Services Committee on February 12, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the Fed’s increased emphasis on the PCE measure but acknowledged that “we’re not quite there yet” on inflation, despite the “great progress” that has been done so far.
In such a macroeconomic environment, the notion of acquiring the best “forever stocks” might appear challenging. That said, although investors may gravitate toward riskier options with bigger potential returns, it is crucial to recognize that long-term stock investments have their worth and importance. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some potential forever stocks.
Our Methodology
When it comes to long-term investing, who better to emulate than Warren Buffett, arguably the most well-known investor on Wall Street? To come up with our list of the best forever stocks, we began by evaluating Buffett’s stock portfolio, focusing on stock holdings that had been in his portfolio for at least 5 years. Next, we looked at the number of hedge fund investors linked with each stock using Insider Monkey’s database of 900 funds in the third quarter of 2024. The following names are ranked according to hedge fund sentiments around them.
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).
13. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is a global leader in food and beverage production that was founded in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz. The company makes a variety of items, including dairy, meat, sauces, drinks, and other commodities.
On February 13, Stifel revised its outlook for The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC), lowering the price target from $32 to $31 while maintaining a Hold rating on the company’s stock. The correction comes after Kraft Heinz reported its fourth-quarter profits, which revealed that Kraft Heinz’s organic sales fell by 3.1%, including a 4.1% loss in volume, albeit this was somewhat offset by a 1% rise due to price. The profits per share for the quarter were $0.84, representing an 8% increase and surpassing Stifel’s expectation by $0.05, aided by a $0.06 benefit from below-the-line items, such as a reduced tax rate.
12. VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), is a multinational software infrastructure company that provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure, allowing users to navigate the internet using globally recognized domain names. The company acts as the exclusive registry for the .com and .net domains.
On February 10, Citi analyst Ygal Arounian raised the price target for VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) to $260 from $250, while keeping a Buy rating on the company. The adjustment follows VeriSign’s fourth-quarter performance, which Arounian deemed positive. Verisign recorded a considerable year-over-year increase rate in the fourth quarter, with 9.5 million gross new registrations. The company also maintained notable gross profit margins of 87.7% and had a 4.3% sales increase in the previous year. Arounian stated that these findings support the idea that the company’s volume difficulties are cyclical rather than structural.