Is PG&E Corporation (PCG) the Best Stock to Buy and Hold for 2025?

We recently published a list of 10 Best Stocks to Buy and Hold For 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) stands against other best stocks to buy and hold for 2025.

Stocks have been performing well lately as they seem to have been influenced by the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) as well as the new administration. CNBC reported that stocks rose on January 22, with the S&P 500 hitting a new all-time high, as technology stocks rallied on AI optimism and President Trump’s new term in office.

On Wednesday, January 22, stocks finished higher as all 3 of the major indexes ended the session in the green. The S&P 500 increased by 0.61% after reaching an intraday record of 6,100.81 before closing at 6,086.37. The Nasdaq Composite excelled and rose 1.28% to reach 20,009.34, underscoring the outperformance of tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced by 130.92 points, or 0.3%, to close at 44,156.73.

READ ALSO: 10 Best Low Priced Technology Stocks To Buy Now and 10 Best Sin Stocks to Invest in 2025.

President Trump also recently announced a joint venture named “Stargate,” involving OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank, to invest at least $500 billion in AI infrastructure within the US. Stocks rose because of solid earnings reports and investors continued to pile into the AI space following this recent announcement by the new administration.

Keith Lerner, Truist’s co-chief investment officer, pointed out that a combination of a resilient economy, easing inflation, stabilizing of interest rates, and a strong start to the earnings season has created a favorable environment for the market. He noted that AI and technology continue to be key drivers of this bull market.

Another key factor playing a role in this market rally is the optimism around Trump’s agenda. Investors are hoping that Trump will ease regulations and reduce corporate taxes, which could lead to an increase in profits.

Methodology

To compile our list of the 10 best stocks to buy and hold for 2025, we used the Finviz stock screener to look for stocks that analysts believe will gain more than 30% in the next 12 months. We sorted our results based on market capitalization and picked the top 25 stocks. Finally, we ranked the 10 best stocks to buy and hold for 2025 based on their average price target upside potential according to analysts as of January 22, 2025. Additionally, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q3 2024 database of 900 elite hedge funds.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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).

Is PG&E Corporation (PCG) the Best Stock to Buy and Hold For 2025?

Brightly-lit nighttime view of an electricity power grid with distribution lines and transmission substations.

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG)

Average Price Target Upside Potential According to Analysts: 52.07%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, one of the largest utility companies in the United States. It provides natural gas and electric service to more than 15 million people across a 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) ranks among the top stocks to buy and hold for 2025.

There is an increasing demand for electricity in California, driven by housing developments, electric vehicle charging stations, data centers, commercial projects, and local infrastructure. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) announced that it increased its 5-year capital investment plan by $1 billion for a total of $63 billion for 2024 through 2028. This plan, which has been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, is aimed at addressing rising customer demand and improving infrastructure across the company’s service area.

The company is focused on physical safety, operational progress, and providing affordable, resilient energy. In Q3 2024, PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) constructed 58 miles of underground power lines and 66 miles of covered power lines with stronger poles in high fire-risk areas. The company also installed 14 new AI-enabled cameras for wildfire detection, bringing the total to over 630 across the system. Additionally, PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) connected almost 2,900 new customers to its electric system during the quarter.

Overall, PCG ranks 5th on our list of best stocks to buy and hold for 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of PCG, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PCG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.