1 Unpopular Stock That Should Get More Attention and 2 We Question
When Wall Street turns bearish on a stock, it’s worth paying attention. These calls stand out because analysts rarely issue grim ratings on companies for fear their firms will lose out in other business lines such as M&A advisory.
Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock poised to prove Wall Street wrong and two facing legitimate challenges.
Two Stocks to Sell:
GATX (GATX)
Consensus Price Target: $188.75 (8.8% implied return)
Originally founded to ship beer, GATX GATX provides leasing and management services for railcars and other transportation assets globally.
Why Are We Cautious About GATX?
- Sluggish trends in its active railcars suggest customers aren’t adopting its solutions as quickly as the company hoped
- Cash burn makes us question whether it can achieve sustainable long-term growth
- Limited cash reserves may force the company to seek unfavorable financing terms that could dilute shareholders
At $173.53 per share, GATX trades at 18.9x forward P/E. If you’re considering GATX for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Hilltop Holdings (HTH)
Consensus Price Target: $34.33 (8.7% implied return)
Transformed from a residential communities business to a financial services powerhouse in 2007, Hilltop Holdings HTH is a Texas-based financial holding company that provides banking, broker-dealer, and mortgage origination services.
Why Should You Dump HTH?
- Net interest income was flat over the last five years, indicating it’s failed to expand this cycle
- Overall productivity is expected to decrease over the next year as Wall Street thinks its efficiency ratio will degrade by 32.4 percentage points
- Sales were less profitable over the last five years as its earnings per share fell by 11.6% annually, worse than its revenue declines
Hilltop Holdings’s stock price of $31.58 implies a valuation ratio of 0.9x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than HTH.
One Stock to Buy:
BancFirst (BANF)
Consensus Price Target: $132.67 (16% implied return)
Operating as a "super community bank" with a decentralized management approach that emphasizes local responsiveness, BancFirst Corporation BANF operates as a financial holding company providing commercial banking services to retail customers and small to medium-sized businesses primarily in Oklahoma and Texas.
Why Will BANF Beat the Market?
- Annual revenue growth of 8.7% over the last five years beat the sector average and underscores the unique value of its offerings
- Additional sales over the last five years increased its profitability as the 16.9% annual growth in its earnings per share outpaced its revenue
- Impressive 11% annual tangible book value per share growth over the last five years indicates it’s building equity value this cycle
BancFirst is trading at $114.41 per share, or 2.1x forward P/B. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free for active Edge members .
Stocks We Like Even More
Trump’s April 2025 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.
Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return).
StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.