In this article, we will discuss the 13 Best Fundamental Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Goldman Sachs Research anticipates that the US stocks will post a fourth-straight year of gains in 2026. Notably, the earnings growth is likely to be a key driver amid a strong economy and continued easing by the US Fed. The firm’s strategists expect the S&P 500 to report a 12% total return in 2026 (as of January 6) as compared to 18% last year.
Furthermore, they anticipate EPS to increase 12% in 2026 and then 10% the following year.
Valuation Scenario of S&P 500
Goldman Sachs Research added that the stock market’s valuations are elevated. The S&P 500 has been trading at a forward P/E ratio of 22x (on consensus forward 12-month EPS). Notably, this matches the peak multiple in 2021 and marches towards the record 24x multiple in 2000. In the base case outlook, steady long-term interest rates as well as earnings growth rates demonstrate that there will be little change in the equity valuations during 2026, adds Ben Snider (chief US equity strategist).
Amidst such trends, we will now have a look at the 13 Best Fundamental Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Our Methodology
To list the 13 Best Fundamental Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we sifted through the holdings of SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust and shortlisted the ones that have a 5-year revenue growth rate of at least 15% and a 5-year net income growth of at least 10%. Next, we chose the ones in which analysts see upside to. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiments around each stock, as of Q3 2025. The stocks are ranked in an ascending order of their average upside potential.
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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
Note: All the data is as of January 9
13 Best Fundamental Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
13. Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)
5-year Revenue Growth: ~37.3%
5-Year Normalized Net Income Growth: ~50.9%
Average Upside Potential: ~21%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) is one of the Best Fundamental Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On January 5, Bernstein reduced the firm’s price objective on the company’s stock to $190 from $199, while keeping an “Outperform” rating, as reported by The Fly. The firm starts 2026 by having a balanced view of oil. It expects choppiness in the near term and is seeing strength in the longer term.
In a different update, Piper Sandler’s Mark Lear reiterated an “Overweight (Buy)” rating on Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s stock with a price objective of $219. The analyst highlighted that the company is its top large-cap E&P, considering its position as a low-cost operator in the Permian, long runway of low breakeven projects, consistent execution, as well as a line of sight on further improvements in efficiency.
Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) consistently delivered the strongest asset-level performance even though it shifted to full-stack development a long time ago.
Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company.
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