In this article, we are going to discuss the 15 best large cap energy stocks to buy according to hedge funds.
Though the overall energy industry has fallen by over 6.4% so far this year, thanks in large part to the plunge in crude oil prices and the prospects of a global economic slowdown, the same cannot be said about the nuclear energy sector. After years of negative sentiment following the tragic Fukushima disaster, nuclear is back on the table, and it has emerged as a key candidate to power the global AI boom and its accompanying data centers.
Hailed as a safe, clean, and reliable source of energy, nuclear received a massive boost this month after President Trump signed an executive order to quadruple the American nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The White House wants to reinvigorate the sector by cutting down on regulations and fast-tracking new licenses for reactors and power plants.
The order has put special focus on small modular reactors, or SMRs, as they ‘offer a lower initial capital investment, greater scalability, and siting flexibility for locations unable to accommodate more traditional larger reactors’. Though the technology is already in advanced stages in other parts of the world, particularly in Russia and China, it is still relatively new in the U.S. President Trump’s orders are intended to change that and ‘re-establish the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy’
With that said, here are the Best Large Cap Energy Stocks to Buy Now.
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of hedge funds’ stock holdings and picked the top 15 companies operating in the energy sector with the highest number of hedge fund investors in Q1 of 2025. When two or more companies had the same number of hedge fund investors backing them, we ranked them by their market cap as of the writing of this piece. To make sure we only give you the giants of the energy industry, we have restricted our search to companies with a market cap of $10 billion and above. The following are the Best Energy Stocks According to 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
15. Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 67
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) is an independent natural gas and liquids company operating in the Appalachian Basin. The company is the most integrated natural gas and NGL business in the US and one of the largest suppliers to the country’s LNG market.
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) had a tough start to the year, falling below both earnings and revenue forecasts in the first quarter of 2025. The company reported adjusted EPS of $0.78 against estimates of $0.88, while its revenue of $1.35 billion also fell below expectations by $44.45 million, despite growing by over 20% YoY.
However, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) generated free cash flow of $337 million in Q1, benefiting from strong natural gas and NGL premiums relative to their benchmarks. The company used this cash to accelerate its share repurchase program, repurchasing $92 million of stock or nearly 1% of its shares YTD through April 30, 2025. AR has approximately $1 billion of capacity remaining on its current share repurchase program. Moreover, the energy firm used its liquidity to reduce its net debt by $204 million.
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) made significant progress in improving its drilling and capital efficiencies during the first quarter, with CEO Paul Rady highlighting in the company’s earnings call:
“We increased our completed feet per day to an average of 2,452 feet. This represents an increase of 15% from the 2,140 feet per day average in 2023. During the first quarter, we averaged 12.3 completion stages per day. This continues the upward trend when comparing to our performance the past two years. Notably, we set a new company record in the first quarter, achieving 18 completion stages per day on 1 pad in March.”
14. Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the global energy industry. The company’s clients include major oil and gas producers worldwide.
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) reported a lackluster performance for its Q1 2024, falling below estimates in both revenue and earnings, primarily due to a significant reduction in drilling activity in Mexico. The company’s adjusted EPS of $0.72 slightly missed expectations by $0.01, while its revenue also fell by 2.5% YoY to $8.49 billion and missed consensus by $102.52 million.
That said, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s cash flow from operations more than doubled to $660 million in Q1, while its free cash flow came in at $103 million. The company aims to return more than 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders, with a commitment to return a minimum of $4 billion through dividends and share repurchases this year. SLB announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share last month and currently boasts an annual dividend yield of 3.39%.
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) has warned that the global upstream investment in 2025 is expected to decline compared to last year, and so the company is working on optimizing supply chains, cutting costs, and aligning resources with activity levels in the coming quarters. Moreover, SLB remains focused on expanding beyond fossil fuels, with its combined revenue from CCS, geothermal, critical minerals, and data center solutions on pace to exceed $1 billion in 2025.
13. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the world’s largest independent E&P companies based on oil and natural gas production and proved reserves. The energy firm made headlines last year when it completed the acquisition of Marathon Petroleum for $22.5 billion, adding over 2 billion barrels of low-cost oil and gas resources to its portfolio.
The deal helped ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) increase its total production to 2.389 million boed during Q1 2025, exceeding the high end of our production guidance and up by over 25% compared to the same period last year. The company also beat forecasts in both earnings and revenue during the quarter.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) boasts a low-cost portfolio with a cost-to-supply of less than $40 a barrel in the U.S. and internationally, allowing it to not only survive but thrive in current market volatility. Moreover, the company is proud of its disciplined capital allocation strategy, which was recently highlighted when COP reduced its capital spending guidance by $500 million and operating costs by $200 million in response to lower crude prices. However, despite cutting CapEx, the company maintained its production guidance, reiterating that it will deliver the same amount of oil and gas but for less money.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is known for its commitment to shareholders, with distributions of $2.5 billion to shareholders in Q1 2025, including $1.5 billion through share repurchases and $1 billion through dividends. This represents 45% of CFO returned in the quarter, consistent with its long-term track record.
12. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Headquartered in Texas, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is the largest producer of LNG in the United States and the second-largest LNG operator in the world. The company’s business model involves purchasing natural gas in the North American market and processing it into LNG for export to more than 40 markets across five continents.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) reported strong results for its Q1 2025, with its revenue rising 28% YoY to $5.44 billion, beating expectations of $4.91 billion. The company’s EBITDA also grew by 6% YoY to $1.87 billion versus last year, topping forecasts of $1.64 billion. The better-than-expected results are primarily attributed to a surge in demand and rising LNG prices.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) does not expect President Trump’s trade war with China to impact its FY 2025, as the company believes that its Chinese buyers will continue purchasing all their contracted cargoes, even if they sell some to third countries. Cheniere also remains focused on expanding its LNG infrastructure, with expectations to produce the first LNG from the second of its seven-train expansion at its Corpus Christi facility within this month.
The American LNG sector continues to grow as the global demand for superchilled gas surges. The sector also enjoys the backing of the current Trump administration, which has allowed players like Cheniere to garner much investor attention. As a result, the stock of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was held by 75 hedge fund investors in the Insider Monkey database at the end of Q1 2025, up from 70 in the previous quarter and 62 in the quarter before that.
11. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 75
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a global leader in battery storage. It is also the owner of the Florida Power & Light Company – America’s largest electric utility, which benefits greatly from Florida’s famous sunshine and growing population.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) currently boasts 72 GW of power generation capacity across the country, with 28 GW of renewable energy projects currently in its backlog. The company wants to ensure it steps up to meet America’s rising electricity demand by investing about $120 billion in the country’s energy infrastructure over the next four years. NEE expects these investments to grow its adjusted EPS at or near the high end of its 6% to 8% annual target range through 2027. It will also help grow the utility company’s dividend at around 10% per share through at least next year.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has reduced its tariff exposure by shifting it to suppliers and contracting with domestic manufacturers. However, the company recently suffered a setback after President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, intended to end Biden-era tax credits for clean energy projects years sooner than planned, advanced through the House of Representatives. The bill marks a significant blow for America’s ballooning solar energy industry, which relies heavily on these tax credits to sustain itself.
10. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 76
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) provides natural gas and electric service to approximately 16 million people throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) slightly fell below forecasts in both revenue and earnings in the first quarter of 2025. However, despite the miss, the company remains confident in meeting its FY 2025 targets, reaffirming its 2025 non-GAAP core earnings guidance at $1.48 to $1.52 per share.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) continues to believe in its long-term strategy, and its EPS growth guidance for 2026 through 2028 remains at least 9% each year. To make sure it is prepared to meet the growing electricity demand in America, the company has also outlined a $63 billion capital plan through 2028, with a special focus on data center growth and affordability. Thanks to its operations in the Bay Area, PG&E’s data center pipeline has grown to 8.7 GW from 5.5 GW, with nearly 3,000 customers added to its electric grid system in the first quarter of 2025.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) also remains committed to its shareholders and is targeting a 20% dividend payout by 2028. The company also announced a regular quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share just last week.
With 76 hedge fund investors in the Insider Monkey database at the end of Q1 2025, PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is included among the Top 10 Large Cap Energy Stocks According to Hedge Funds.
9. Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:TLN)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 80
Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:TLN) is a leading independent power producer and energy infrastructure company with a portfolio that consists of 12 generation locations that are collectively capable of producing approximately 10.7 GW of power.
Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:TLN) made headlines last year after it announced the sale of a 960 MW data center campus to cloud service provider AWS, a subsidiary of Amazon, for $650 million. The facility was meant to be powered by Talen’s Susquehanna Nuclear power plant in a so-called co-located arrangement, in which data centers are located close to the power stations that feed them, potentially eliminating the overly long wait times associated with connecting to the broader electrical grid.
However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voiced concerns about how the campus might affect power reliability and costs for the general public and ruled to cap the amount of power to Amazon’s data center at 300 MW. Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:TLN) is currently appealing the regulator’s decision and expects a court hearing on the case in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the company is considering alternative data center deals, including ones that connect the centers to the grid as part of traditional commercial power contracts.
Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:TLN) announced mixed results for its Q1 2025 earlier this month, beating forecasts in adjusted earnings but falling short in revenue. That said, the company reported an adjusted free cash flow of $87 million and repurchased shares worth $83 million during the quarter. Since the start of 2024, Talen has repurchased approximately 23% of its outstanding shares for a total of approximately $2 billion, with $995 million still remaining under its share repurchase program through year-end 2026.
8. Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 80
Formed in 2024 by the merger of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company, Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) is the largest natural gas producer in America.
Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) has hit some major milestones recently, including achieving an upgrade to investment grade by Moody’s and joining the prestigious S&P 500. The company announced its Q1 2025 results last month, beating forecasts in both earnings and revenue and eliminating its gross debt by approximately $440 million.
Moreover, it was reported on May 22, 2025, that the analysts at Bernstein SocGen Group have initiated coverage on Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) with an Outperform rating and a price target of $150. The analyst remains bullish on natural gas and projects the mid-cycle Henry Hub price rising to $5/mcf, as a result of the critical role the fuel is expected to play in powering the ongoing AI boom. Moreover, thanks to its increased capacity in the crucial Haynesville region, Bernstein forecasts Expand’s production to reach 7.5 bcf/d by 2026, enabling the company to achieve $500 million in annual synergies by the end of next year.
7. Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 80
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is a leader in deepwater development and production, with top quartile performance in offshore drilling and project delivery. The company is one of the largest gross-operated deepwater producers in the Gulf of America, with offshore assets also in Asia Pacific and South America.
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is set to be taken over by Chevron in a $53 billion deal, but the move has been delayed due to an arbitration dispute filed by Exxon and China’s CNOOC – Hess’ partners in Guyana. The two companies claim that they have a contractual right of first refusal to purchase Hess’ stake in the prolific Guyana field, and the case is currently being analyzed by the International Chamber of Commerce in London. If Chevron and Hess lose the arbitration and are unable to agree on an acceptable resolution with Exxon and CNOOC, the acquisition would fail, according to the terms of the deal.
In the meantime, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) reported a 43% YoY drop in adjusted profit for the first quarter of 2025, but still managed to beat Wall Street expectations. The declining crude prices took a toll on the company’s earnings as its average realized crude oil selling price fell to $71.22 per barrel in Q1, compared to $80.06 a barrel a year ago.
6. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 81
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) manufactures and sells a range of high-quality refined products, including gasoline, diesel, marine and aviation fuels, premium base oil, finished lubricants, and fuel oil additives.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) has recently made headlines over the Trump administration’s stance towards its operations in Venezuela. Despite an earlier statement by a senior government official that the White House is set to extend the oil major’s deadline to halt its operations by another 60 days, Marco Rubio posted on X that Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela will expire on May 27 as initially planned. However, according to a recent report by Bloomberg, the Trump administration is preparing to issue a narrowly tailored license to Chevron, allowing it to conduct minimal maintenance of essential operations in Venezuela.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s operations in Venezuela are a major source of foreign exchange for the South American country. The company’s total output in the country surpassed 250,000 b/d earlier this month, representing a significant chunk of its overall global production.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is also currently in the process of acquiring Hess Corporation in a $53 billion deal, but the move has been delayed due to an arbitration dispute filed by the latter’s partners in Guyana. However, Chevron remains confident and even spent $2.2 billion to buy nearly 5% of the outstanding shares of Hess in the first quarter of 2025.
5. Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 83
Next on our list of the Best Large Cap Energy Stocks is Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG), the largest producer of carbon-free energy in the US, with a special emphasis on nuclear power.
The share price of Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) has surged by more than 32% over the last month, following the Trump administration’s keen focus on fast-tracking the deployment of nuclear reactors in the United States. The President recently signed an executive order to quadruple the country’s nuclear energy production by cutting down on regulations and fast-tracking new licenses for reactors and power plants. The strategic move aims to power the ongoing AI boom and its accompanying data centers, which are expected to raise the domestic electricity demand to record highs in 2025 and 2026.
This presents a significant opportunity for Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG), which is already moving ahead with power deals with data centers. Last year, the company also signed a massive power purchase agreement with Microsoft to help resurrect a unit of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and power its AI data center.
Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s executive orders on advancing nuclear energy:
“On behalf of the thousands of women and men who work at our 12 well-run nuclear power plants, we applaud the Trump administration for its strong support for preserving and expanding America’s nuclear fleet to power our economy, win the AI race against China, and reassert America’s leadership in nuclear energy. The administration has rightly focused on common sense initiatives to expand the existing fleet with fast-track licensing, increase domestic conversion and enrichment of nuclear fuel, and accelerate the deployment of new reactors — all while maintaining the NRC’s track record of being a responsible regulator to what is considered the safest nuclear fleet in the world. Constellation is walking the walk with plans to invest billions of dollars into its fleet on projects like increasing the generation capacity of our plants by up to 1,000 additional megawatts and relicensing the entire fleet into the 2070s, creating over 11,000 family-sustaining jobs for a minimum of 20 years.”
4. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)
No. of Hedge Funds Holders: 91
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is a leading natural gas producer in the U.S. with production and midstream operations focused in the Appalachian Basin.
The strength of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) lies in its low-cost structure, which allows it to generate consistent cash flow growth even when the natural gas prices are going down. The company is also set to benefit from the rising power demand due to the boom in artificial intelligence, as natural gas has emerged as the primary candidate to power its data centers. As a result, EQT has surged by almost 35% over the last year.
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) beat profit estimates in the first quarter of 2025 and even raised its 2025 production guidance by 25 Bcfe while also lowering capital spending by $25 million, highlighting its efficient cost management and strong well performance. The company also remains financially healthy, generating over $1 billion in free cash flow during the quarter, nearly twice the consensus FCF estimates of the next closest natural gas producer. As a result, earlier this month, UBS analyst Josh Silverstein upgraded EQT’s outlook from Neutral to Buy while raising its price target from $54 to $64.
3. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is one of the largest integrated fuels, lubricants, and chemical companies in the world. The company operates facilities and markets products around the globe and explores for oil and natural gas on six continents.
An absolute behemoth of the global oil and gas industry, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is expected to not only survive but thrive during the current plunge in global crude prices, thanks primarily to its financial discipline. The company is transforming itself to become even more efficient and expects to drop its breakeven price to only $35 per barrel of Brent crude oil by 2027 and further to $30 per barrel by 2030. Exxon has taken an impressive $12.7 billion of structural cost out of the business since 2019, and expects to jack this number up to $18 billion by 2030.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has a reputation for being a big money generator, delivering an industry-leading $13 billion in cash flow from operations in Q1 2025, while its free cash flow came in at $8.8 billion. The company is also known for its commitment to shareholders, having raised its payouts for 42 consecutive years. Exxon distributed $9.1 billion to shareholders in the first quarter despite the tough industry conditions, and announced plans to repurchase $20 billion in stock in 2025 and 2026.
2. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 102
A leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is the largest competitive power producer in the US with a capacity of approximately 41,000 MW.
The share price of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) has surged by almost 24% over the last month. Despite beating adjusted EPS estimates in its Q1 2025 results announced earlier in May, the company reported a net loss of $268 million. However, the stock recently received a boost after President Trump signed an executive order to jumpstart America’s nuclear sector and quadruple the country’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The order intends to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licenses for reactors and power plants. This presents a significant opportunity for Vistra, as the company makes efforts to cement its place in the nuclear renaissance and expand its capacity. The utility firm made headlines in March when it acquired Energy Harbor, adding 4 GW of nuclear generation capacity to its portfolio and making it the owner of the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the US.
Additionally, to make sure it steps up to fulfill the record increase in American electricity demand amidst the ongoing AI boom, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) recently announced that it is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of seven power plants spread across the country from Lotus Infrastructure Partners for $1.9 billion. The deal will add over 2.5 GW of capacity to Vistra’s portfolio and is expected to close sometime in late 2025 or early 2026.
Sound Shore Management stated the following regarding Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Finally, a strong contributor that we have discussed in past letters, power producer Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) continued its upward trajectory from last year into the first quarter. A long-term holding, Vistra is a low-cost provider with increasingly important carbon-free nuclear facilities to power data centers. We had been trimming our position as the stock approached our price target and sold the last of our holding early in the quarter.”
1. GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV)
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
Topping our list of the Best Large Cap Energy Stocks to Buy Now is GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV), which brings together General Electric’s portfolio of energy businesses, including Power, Wind, Electrification, and Digital businesses. The company’s core business is manufacturing and servicing natural gas-powered turbines, which are seeing high demand as natural gas has emerged as the leading candidate to power America’s ongoing artificial intelligence boom.
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) received a massive boost earlier this month when the White House announced that the power equipment maker would export gas turbines and energy solutions totaling $14.2 billion to Saudi Arabia, as part of a broader $600 billion investment commitment. The company announced this week that it has secured an order for five 7H-Class gas turbines from Riyadh, which will play an important role in the Kingdom’s plan to generate half of its electricity from gas by 2030.
Moreover, GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) stands to be the true winner amidst the American nuclear renaissance, following the signing of an executive order to quadruple the country’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050. GEV is one of a handful of companies with significant market share in nuclear reactors, with a special focus on SMRs, or small modular reactors. Though relatively smaller and simpler, these power plants are expected to be the next big thing in nuclear energy due to their affordability, versatility, and lower construction timelines. Vernova has already made a significant breakthrough in the business after it received permission in mid-2025 to begin construction on an SMR in Ontario that would be the first reactor of its type in the Western hemisphere, capable of powering roughly 300,000 homes.
While we acknowledge the potential of GEV to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GEV and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 10 Cheap Energy Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Most Undervalued Energy Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
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