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 (NYSE: 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 (NYSE: 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 (NASDAQ: 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). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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.
